China, an authentic antique hand-carved and hand-painted limestone temple figure of the venerable lohan, Kasyapa.

Substantial dimensions: 35 inches high and 12 inches wide

Handmade and hand-carved, solid limestone with weathered remnants of
older temple paint as applied by the temple from where it originally came, Chengdu, China. Stone statues like these were regularly – refreshed- by the temple monks. In our extensive travels to western china we saw many instances of old stone figures like this with varying degrees of paint, refreshed by the temple monks to maintain a seemingly new appearance. Hands may have been replaced at some antique time.

Please note the offering cavity on his back side- undoubtedly used by patrons to place offering scripts or perhaps food as a sign of respect and veneration.

This enjoyable character would make a fine garden presentation or special indoor choice.

Only one.

Provenance: Originally from a collector in Chengdu, China, acquired by us directly from this collection around 2002 on one of our many visits to that part of historic China.

About Kasyapa:
Kasyapa is a revered Vedic sage of Hinduism. He was one of the seven ancient sages considered as Saptarishis in Sanskrit texts and Indian mythologies. He is the most ancient rishi listed in the colophon verse in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and called a self-made scholar in the Atharvaveda. He was based in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, and legends attribute the region of Kashmir to be derived from his name.
One of the more frequently depicted lohans in Chinese sculpture is Kasyapa, a cousin to the Buddha. Throughout Six dynasties (220-589) and T’ang (618-906) the Buddha’s chief disciples Ananda and Kasyapa were frequently depicted as monks flanking a central image of the Buddha Sakyamuni.

Lifetime guarantee of authenticity: All of our Asian works of art come with our Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee.