Tang Dynasty, circa AD 618-906 The head is cast with prominent features carved in a stern, contemplative expression enhanced by the sharply angled eyes, below arched long bushy brows, and elongated face, wrinkles on the cheeks and around the eyes and mouth, flanked by a large pair of pendulous earlobes. Luohans (The Eighteen Arhats) were regarded as the original followers of Buddha and large volumes of them, numbering from sixteen to five hundred, were enshrined in larger Buddhist temples. As a means of achieving merit, donors would commission individual images and dedicate the merit to deceased family members. Wealthier devotees could commission entire sets. For a similar style see Sotheby’s, lot 10, 12 September 2018. Size: D: mm / US: 700 / UK: 310; 50+kg. Provenance: UK private collection; formerly acquired in the early 1990s in Hong Kong.