A Chinese Carved Stone Head of a Laughing Luohan

Song dynasty (960-1279), limestone finely carved as the head of a laughing luohan with deeply incised raised eyebrows, wide heavy-lidded eyes, elongated ears, and an open mouth as if laughing revealing traces of red pigment around his teeth, the face is rendered with an expressive naturalism, presented mounted with pole on a wooden stand.

20 x 8 x 10 in.

From the Collection of Adrienne and John C. Maxwell, Jr. John C. Maxwell Jr. assembled one of the most distinguished private collections of Asian art in the American South, with a particular focus on Chinese, Korean, and Japanese works spanning antiquity through the late imperial period. A financier and respected market analyst by profession, Maxwell developed his interest in Asian art during his military service in Korea in the early 1950s. What began as personal study evolved into a lifelong commitment to collecting, scholarship, and connoisseurship.

The collection formed by Maxwell and his wife Adrienne reflects Maxwell’s highly analytical eye and preference for works possessing strong historical character, refined craftsmanship, and clear cultural significance. Numerous objects from the collection together with their private library of 1,200 scholarly Asian art journals and books were gifted to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, where they became part of the museum’s Maxwell East Asian Collection.

Weisbrod Chinese Art Ltd., New York
Purchased from the above before 1997.

For an earlier Tang dynasty version of a Luohan with similar details, see Head of a Luohan (60.73.1) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Small losses to nose and teeth; crack wrapping back of head, appears stable; wear to stone commensurate with age.