Nanhua Temple: Arhats

CHINA, Guangdong, Shaoguan; Northern Song dynasty

From the original 500 pieces at Nanhua Temple, 360 of these sculptures still exist today. Fifty of the pieces are kept at the Palace Museum in Beijing. Inscriptions on some figures indicate that they were made as a result of a fund-raising effort by the disciple Yang Renxi during the years 1045 to 1048; with donors from various social classes.
Each arhat is has a distinct posture and feature. Those pictured here are among the ten belonging to Guangdong Provincial Museum. The 55 cm high sculpture vividly portrays a young monastic who looks to one side with wide eyes and grasps the edges of the robe about him. Another arhat sits cross-legged in monastic robes holding a stick that is seemingly being used as a back scratcher. The third arhat is older and also looks to one side. The figure sits on a rock with one leg balanced on the opposite knee and the other overhanging, with an inscription at the bottom of the sculpture.