Arhat and Attendants

The oldest Chinese painting in the AMAM collection, this important work represents an arhat, an enlightened Buddhist sage known in Chinese as a luóhàn 罗汉 / 羅漢. Although often portrayed as eccentric ascetics, another mode of representation, seen here, shows an arhat as an urbane, high-ranking monk. The arhat sits in a chair with his legs crossed under his robe, his sandals on the footrest in front of him and a decorative screen behind. He grasps a fly whisk, a symbol of rank, and his elevated status is reinforced by the attendants who serve him.

This portrayal was typical in contemporary, formal monastic portraiture, the visual similarities acting to reinforce connections with the ancient arhat disciples of the Buddha. In fact, his status as an arhat is indicated only by an almost imperceptible halo.