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Edo p. Japanese Carved Buddhist Image of Rakan

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All Items: Archives:Regional Art:Asian:Japanese: Pre 1800: item # 738762

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Edo p. Japanese Carved Buddhist Image of Rakan
An 18th century image of an Arhat (Rakan) with bulbous earlobes and long drooping eyebrows covered in the remnants of a vibrant coat of paint. Glass eyes stare out non-plussed at the area before his knees. Meant to be viewed from below, Rakan images were often placed high in eaves of Zen meditation rooms, to watch over the practitioners and provide examples of proper meditating positions (each Rakan sits in a unique position). This carving is made up of several pieces of wood joined and carved, with a covering of silk and lacquer beneath to seal the raw wood in the Chinese style; possibly from an Obaku temple or affiliate. The figure is quite large, over 18 inches 846 cm) tall. Although the various colors are quite distressed, the wood is solid and he exudes a great sense of age. A Rakan (also Arahat/Arhat or Lohan) is a Buddhist saint who has broken the chain of re-birth and overcome the three poisons of desire, hatred and ignorance. It is a popular theme in both Chinese and Japanese art. This figure sits 7 inches (18 cm) tall and is covered in two centuries of soot and color, a magnificent ancient work. There is much distress to the lacquer and paint on his robes and face, and it appears as if the extended right arm was broken off and repaired many years ago.


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