Two Lohans

Unknown

ca. 1480 · Ink and transparent watercolor on paper · Islamic Art

Images of ascetic figures such as these, referred to as lohans in Buddhist tradition, appear regularly in Chinese art. This drawing, however, is inscribed in the lower left "Siyah Qalam" (literally, Black Pen), linking this tinted drawing to a series of similarly inscribed pieces preserved in albums in Istanbul's Topkapi Palace Library. While these materials require further investigation, signed and dated pieces in the albums fall mostly within the reign of the Aq Quyunlu ruler Sultan Ya'qub (r. 1478–90), who reigned at Tabriz. Drawings such as this one may have been practice studies, after Chinese originals.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1480

Medium

Ink and transparent watercolor on paper

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1968