AN UNUSUAL SANDSTONE HEAD OF THE LUOHAN ASITA, SONG TO MING DYNASTY China, 12^th-15^th century. The pale ochre sandstone vividly rendered with a bare head, the face revealing an expression of quiet power and compassion, framed by a pair of long bushy eyebrows extending to a wrinkled forehead and straight nose, with taut rounded cheeks above a gentle smile encircled by further wrinkles, flanked by long pendulous earlobes.

Provenance: From a Swiss private collection.
Condition: Good condition commensurate with age and overall exactly as expected from a stone sculpture with an age of half a millennia or more. Extensive wear with signs of natural weathering and erosion, some nicks, age cracks and losses. Solid naturally grown patina.

Weight: 8.4 g (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 36 cm (incl. stand), 20.4 cm (excl. stand)

With a modern metal stand.

Asita means incomparably proper in Sanskrit, or of correct proportions in spirit and physique. According to legend, Asita was born with two long white eyebrows. The story was that in his previous life he was a monk who, though having tried very hard, could not attain enlightenment even at a ripe old age and had only two long white eyebrows left. After his death he was reincarnated as a human being.

Animated portraits of luohans are rare, most examples being straightforward and somewhat idealized renditions. The trend of more naturalistic sculpture was initiated by Song dynasty artists, who also often depicted human figures with animated, expressive faces. This trend continued into the subsequent Yuan and Ming dynasties.

Literature comparison:
Two sandstone sculptures of arhats, one with a tiger, the other with a dragon, were discovered in 1980 at the Boshan Temple site in Fu County, Shaanxi Province, see H. Rogers, China 5000 Years, Innovation and Transformation in the Arts, New York, 1998, no. 177.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams London, 7 November 2019, lot 55
Price: GBP 8,812 or approx. EUR 11,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare sandstone head of a luohan, 14th/15th century

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 4 April 2016, lot 2835
Price: HKD 750,000 or approx. EUR 106,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare limestone head of a luohan, Song dynasty


宋至明砂岩長眉羅漢頭像
中國，十二至十五世紀。赭色砂岩，長眉羅漢禿頂廣額，前額突起似桃形，下有皺紋連連，一對長長的濃密眉毛，容貌清臞、慈眉善目。

來源：瑞士私人收藏。
品相：品相良好，整體完全符合石雕的年代預期。大面積磨損，帶有自然風化和侵蝕的跡象、一些刻痕、老化裂縫和缺損。自然包漿。

重量：8.4 克 (含底座)
尺寸：高36 厘米 (含底座), 20.4 厘米 (不含底座)

現代金屬底座。

Asita在梵文中的意思是無與倫比的意思，或在精神和身體上的和諧。相傳，阿西塔出生時有兩條長長的白眉。故事說他前世是個僧人，雖然很努力，但到了晚年也不能成道，只剩下兩根長長的白眉毛。他死後轉世為人。

羅漢的造像很少見，大多數例子都是直截了當且有些理想化的演繹。宋代藝術家開創了更自然的雕塑風格，他們也經常用生動、富有表現力的面孔來描繪人物形象。這種風格一直延續到後來的元明朝

文獻比較：
1980年，在陝西省富縣博山寺遺址發現了兩件砂岩羅漢雕塑，一件是老虎，另一件是龍，見H.Rogers，《China 5000 Years, Innovation and Transformation in the Arts》，紐約，1998年，頁177。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：倫敦邦瀚斯，2019年11月7日，lot 55
價格：GBP 8,812（相當於今日EUR 11,000）
描述：十四/十五世紀石雕羅漢頭像

拍賣結果比較：
形制：相近
拍賣：香港蘇富比，2016年4月4日，lot 2835
價格：HKD 750,000（相當於今日EUR 101,200）
描述：宋代石灰岩羅漢頭像