Cleveland Museum of Art

Seated Arhat with Two Attendants

Date

late 1200s

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk

Culture

China, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Arhat, or Lohan (羅漢 in Chinese), were the disciples of the historical Buddha. Later tradition tended to picture them in sets of 16, 18, or as many as 500. This is one painting from a larger set, with a seated arhat portrayed on a grand scale, overshadowing his own attendant as well as the ferocious figure who approaches him with an offering of a wild goose. The arhat holds a rolled up scroll, likely a sutra, and is seated before a standing screen decorated with a landscape painting.

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