Page 86 - Sotheby's London Important Chinese Art Nov. 2019

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PROPERTY FROM AN ASIAN PRIVATE COLLECTION
AN IMPERIALLY INSCRIBED PALE CELADON
JADE ‘LUOHAN’ BOULDER
QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

deeply carved to the front with a luohan seated in a
meditative position on a ledge within a deep grotto with
his shoes placed on a flat rock before him, framed by
gnarled tree trunks and jagged rockwork, with a small
bridge traversing a rushing stream amidst the rocks, a
rock-face towering above incised with an excerpt from
a prose by Qianlong describing said luohan, the reverse
decorated with trees and further vegetation, the polished
stone a pale celadon tone with mottled russet patches
Length 24.5 cm, 9⅝ in.
This boulder is boldly carved deep relief with Vanavasin,
one of the sixteen luohan. A Buddhist monk, whose name
in Sanskrit means ‘rain’, Vanavasin is said to have reached
enlightenment under a plantain tree. In the 18th century
depictions of luohan, close disciples of the Historical
Buddha Shakyamuni, were very popular. Their distinctive
iconography, each with exaggerated, almost grotesque
features, originated with an influential rendition of each
luohan by the famous late Tang (618-907) and Five
Dynasties (907-960) monk and painter Guanxiu (823-912),
who saw them appear this way in a dream. The Qianlong
emperor, who saw these paintings during a tour to
southern China, composed eulogies to each luohan.
Two jade boulders similarly carved with a luohan in a
grotto, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, were
included in the museum’s exhibition Refined Taste of the
Emperor: Special Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades
of the Ch’ing Court, Taipei, 1997, cat. nos. 39 and 43;
another from the De An Tang collection was included in
the exhibition A Romance with Jade. From the De An Tang
Collection, Palace Museum, Beijing, 2004, cat. no. 33; two
were sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 27th April 2003, lot
33, and 25th April 2004, lot 98; and another was sold at
Christie’s Hong Kong, 1st May 1995, lot 801. See also a
slightly smaller boulder with Panthaka, sold in our Hong
Kong rooms, 8th April 2011, lot 2835.

‡ £ 50,000-70,000
HK$ 489,000-685,000 US$ 62,500-87,500
清乾隆 青白玉御題詩羅漢山子

84 Buyers are liable to pay both the hammer price (as estimated above) and the buyer’s premium together with any applicable taxes and Artist’s Resale Right (which will depend on the individual circumstances).
Refer to the Buying at Auction and VAT sections at the back of this catalogue for further information.