清康熙 景德鎮窯青花釉裏紅羅漢圖瓶|Vase with Buddhist figures

Unknown

late 17th century · Porcelain with raised decoration, painted in underglaze cobalt blue and copper red (Jingdezhen ware) · Asian Art

By the seventeenth century, traditional Buddhist themes were common both in literati paintings and in the decorative arts. The holy men depicted here are arhats (luohans), Buddha’s disciples. One tussles with a snarling tiger, another calls a roaring dragon, and the third has a cane and a straw hat. Probably copied from a woodblock print, these figures represent stock figures rather than specific individuals.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 17th century

Medium

Porcelain with raised decoration, painted in underglaze cobalt blue and copper red (Jingdezhen ware)

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Purchase by subscription, 1879