1 | A GILT BRONZE FIGURE OF A SEATED LOUHAN Liao dynasty 916-1125 AD China Seated in vajrasana with both hands resting in his lap in dhyana mudra, the gesture of absolute balance of meditation, the louhan's appearance is severe, but intense and full of concentration. He is dressed in various robes worn in layers. The outermost robe is open at the chest - exposing the v necked crisscross of the under robes, and covering both arms in folds that descend over the legs to gather in ripples in front. The head is bald and the ears, with their elongated lobes, exposed. His expression is powerful - with knitted brow, almond shaped eyes, broad nose, and pronounced cheeks above fleshy lips. The neck is subtly modelled - with Adam's apple, and protruding collar bones below. There is a square opening - to the reverse side of the head - where the figure would originally have been consecrated. Height: 9 ½" / 24.2 cm No other gilt bronze Louhan (a disciple of the Buddha) from this period appears to have been published. Compare: 'Chinese Buddhist Sculpture under the Liao' by Marilyn Leidig Gridley, Delhi 1993 - see page 125 and plate 98a. Illustrated are two heads - one a clay figure of Kasyapa attending Dipankara dated to 1038 from Hsia-ssu, Ta-t'ung, Shansi, and the other a Sancai glazed figure of a Louhan formally in the Fuld collection. These bear many similarities to the head of the gilt bronze louhan - both in the style of the facial features and the intensity of expression. Also: 'Chinese Art Under the Mongols' by Sherman Lee & Wai Kam Ho, Cleveland Museum 1968 - figs. 12 & 13, and in 'The Crucible of Wisdom & Compassion', The Nitta Collection at the Palace Museum, Taiwan 1987 - figs. 88 & 89. All the illustrated Liao gilt bronze seated Buddha figures show characteristics that link them to the louhan: the treatment of the drapery, the eyes and lips - and the tone of the gilding.