This figure was probably one of a series of sixteen luohan, the historic group of acolytes who followed Sakyamuni Buddha and continued his mission of dissemination of the philosophy after his Nirvana. It is very likely part of a set that included a figure seated hugging his raised left leg, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 April 1998, lot 772.

The inscription reads: “The devotee Chen Hu and the noble female relations from his father’s lineage donated five taels of silver towards the casting [of this figure]; the devotee Liu Jigui and his wife, nee Wang and their son, contributed one tael of silver [for the making of this statue].