I went to the British museum during the winter break. It was an exciting experience. I saw some ancient artworks that are breathtakingly beautiful and so precious that I only saw them in some documentaries. It's really impressive to see them in the real life.
I would say that if you really want to appreciate most of the artworks in the museum, you need to know the history and the story behind that particular artwork. As a Chinese, I was really fascinated with the ceramic art works and sculptures in the Chinese history. Out of these, I would like to talk about the
Luohan - Yixian Glazed Ceramic Sculpture.
Image 1. Arhat (Luohan) by Unknown author, 907-1125, Sculpture
This is a life-size statue of a 'Luohan' (arhat), sitting, hands on lap, on a plinth with a perforated front, with green and brown robes surrounded by blue stripes. Made of lead-glazed stoneware. (The British Museum, N.D.) It reminds me of something related to Buddhism, I could imagine how this sculpture was placed in a temple and respected by people surrounded. The skin color of this Luohan, which is kind like white tone yellow, reminds me of death but in a peaceful way. The colors used in this sculpture which are green, brown and white tone yellow is quite common in Buddhism sculptures, an example I found is Glazed ceramic sculpture of Budai, which is also in the museum.
Image 2. Budai by Unknown author, 1486, Sculpture
The story behind this Arhat (Luohan) sculpture is thought-provoking.
In the summer of 1912, Friedrich Perzyński saw a three-color arhat statue in Beijing that amazed him. Because he has been immersed in this way for many years, he knows very well that few ancient Chinese statues are made in proportion to the human body. He immediately offered to buy it, only to be told that the statue had already been bought by the Japanese. Faced with such a rare and exquisite statue, Perzyński refused to give up. After much probing, he finally learned from the Japanese that the statue came from a cave in Bafuwa, Yi County, Hebei Province, 130 kilometers southwest of Beijing.
Is the autumn of the year, Perzyński lived in Yi County Qing Xiling Yongfu Temple in the name of "recuperating". Following a guide, he and his Interpreter walked in the mountains with a compass, telegraph and telescope, trying to find the hidden "treasure cave". When they returned to the temple in the evening, they marked the route and prepared for the next day. Finally, he climbed into the cave halfway up the mountain, but was disappointed: there was not a single Arhat in the cave, only a Ming Dynasty statue of Miler and the Good-Fortune Virgin. But the guide said that he had seen several vivid Arhats here not long ago. It turned out that another group of foreign antique dealers had already carried out a "sweep". Lured by their high prices, locals smuggle Arhat statues down the mountain at night. Due to the steep mountain path, some Arhat statues were unfortunately broken in transit. Those in good condition were sold to foreign antique dealers or hidden by locals for sale.
Faced with such a situation, Perzyński immediately asked someone to find these cultural relics dealers and bought eight Arhat statues with a large price and shipped them abroad. Later, he recorded this event in his book, "A Trip to China".(The Institute of Archaeology CASS, N.D.)
It is a pity that not all those sculptures were well-protected and some of them were broken in transit. It is also sad to see those invaluable cultural relics were brought and shipped to another country.
Personally, I like this work. It is surprising when I recognize this is the sculpture from 1000 years ago. I was amazed by the shaping and painting techniques of this work. It is also unbelievable that the color of this sculpture didn't fade too much in the past 1000 years, and, just to remind that, there was no chemical pigment at that time. I am curious about what things they used to color this sculpture that could made the color last for such a long time.
Research Reference List
The British Museum. Description of Arhat (Luohan). (No date). Available from figure | British Museum. [Accessed 29 December 2022].
The Institute of Archaeology CASS. 文物故事︱河北易县辽代三彩罗汉像的颠沛流离. (No date). Available from 文物故事︱河北易县辽代三彩罗汉像的颠沛流离 (kaogu.cn). [Accessed 29 December 2022].
Image Reference List
Image 1. Arhat (Luohan) By Unknown Author, 907-1125, Sculpture, Available from figure | British Museum. [Accessed 29 December 2022].
Image 2. Budai By Unknown Author, 1486, Sculpture, Available from figure | British Museum. [Accessed 29 December 2022].
Thank you!
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