Tang Dynasty, Circa AD 618-906 The figure is shown seated on a tree trunk wrapped within his priestly robes and holding clasps of rosary (prayer beads) dangling from his left to right hand. His face is cast with prominent features carved in a stern, contemplative expression enhanced by the sharply angled eyes, below arched long bushy brows, encompassing wrinkles and elongated face 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. The figure could be from a later period. Size: D: mm / US: 760 / UK: 320; 30+kg. Provenance: The C Roger Moss OBE 1936-2020 collection – formerly the President of “The Oriental Ceramics society", acquired during his life in Hong Kong 1980-2003.