Buddhist Arhat (K: Nahan)

Individually fashioned by hand rather than cast in a mold, this Korean stoneware sculpture depicts a standing nahan. A nahan (in Sanskrit, arhat meaning “enlightened being”) is one of the original disciples of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, the Indian prince turned monk and founder of the Buddhist religion. The nahan's hands are joined as though in prayer or informal mediation. Expressively incised lines define facial features including a scraggly mustache and beard, details that underscore for a Korean worshipper the monk's exotic Indian features. The arches of linear patterns on his chest represent exposed ribs bones, for our monk, like the Buddha himself, fasted while meditating.

A pale green glaze—exemplary of luxury court and Buddhist Korean stonewares of the period—lends a brilliant colorism to the composition. The robust execution of the piece is characteristic of Korea’s long ceramic tradition. There are areas on the front and rear of the robe that suggest damage but are in reality points of contact where the sculpture touched other ceramics during firing. This suggests the possibility that our work may have once been part of a set of sixteen or eighteen nahans, for such multi-figure groups adorned Buddhist temples of the period.