Page 181 - Christie's Irving Collection Lacquer Bronse jade and Ink March 2019

The present boulder belongs to a group of jade carvings that frst 玉雕羅漢山子出現於明末清初而流行於乾隆時期。有些十八世紀的羅漢山子更
appeared in the late Ming to early Qing dynasties, depicting luohan (disciples 刻有乾隆御題、御製詩文，可見其備受皇家重視。這些乾隆宮廷玉雕往往以五代
of Buddha known as arhats in Sanskrit) within a mountainous grotto setting. 高僧貫休所作的十六羅漢圖為本。乾隆皇帝於乾隆二十二年（1757年）第二次南
A selection of the eighteenth century versions is inscribed with dedicatory 巡期間，到杭州西湖聖恩寺，並首次看到該寺收藏的貫休十六羅漢圖，對其大為
or poetic inscriptions linking them to the Qianlong emperor (1736-1795). It is 欣賞，不但親筆在畫上題字，亦命宮廷畫師丁觀鵬仿畫。皇帝對十六羅漢圖珍重
likely that these carvings in jade were inspired by a woodblock print included 不已，朝廷亦出現大量以羅漢圖為藍本的藝術品，其中以玉器為多。本件山子所
in the eighteenth century catalogue Gu yu tu pu of a jade carving of a luohan 刻羅漢慈眉善目，坐於臥象之側，當為十六羅漢之一的迦哩迦尊者，亦稱“騎象
in a grotto. It is thought that the craftsmen of the time produced sets of 羅漢”。
jade carvings showing the sixteen or eighteen luohan. The current carving
參見倫敦大英博物館藏兩件尺寸略小之羅漢山子，載於《Chinese Jade: From
appears to show Kalika, also known as Qixiang luohan or “Elephant Riding
Luohan”, seated beside a bundle of scrolls. the Neolithic to the Qing》，倫敦，1995年， 409-411頁，編號29:19，圖版
1，其作者Jessica Rawson亦對羅漢玉雕的背景與内涵做了深入的探討。亦可
See two slightly smaller comparable jade carvings of luohan seated against 比舊金山亞洲藝術博物館館藏之三件近似例，其一為菩提達摩，收錄於《Later
a backdrop of rock faces in the collection of the British Museum, London, Chinese Jades: Ming Dynasty to Early Twentieth Century from the
illustrated by Jessica Rawson in Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco》，舊金山亞洲藝術博物館，2007
London, 1995, pp. 410-11, no. 29:19 and fg. 1, where, p. 410, the author also 年，284-286頁，編號315、316及317。
gives an enlightening discussion on the context and signifcance of this
group of carvings. 紐約大都會博物館藏有一件刻有乾隆御題詩的迦哩迦尊者玉山子，館藏編號
02.18.640。香港佳士得於2016年5月30日拍賣一件乾隆御製贊阿必達尊者玉
Compare, also, with three jade carvings in the Asian Art Museum of San 山子，拍品3021號。
Francisco, one of Bodhidharma and two of luohan in a rocky setting,
illustrated in Later Chinese Jades: Ming Dynasty to Early Twentieth Century
from the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, 2007, pp. 284-
86, nos. 315, 316 and 317.
An inscribed jade carving of the luohan Kanaka seated in a grotto is in the
collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accession number
02.18.640. Another imperially inscribed jade luohan grotto depicting the
sixteenth luohan, Abhedya, was sold at Christie’s, Hong Kong, 30 May 2016,
lot 3021.

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