A rare and large Imperially-inscribed pale green and russet jade 'luohan' boulder


QianlongExquisitely carved in high relief with the luohan Ajita seated in a grotto by a tall tree with his hands clasping his raised right knee, in a contemplative pose, his balding head slightly lowered with two drooping eyebrows furrowing over deep-set eyes and shoulders, his long flowing robe open to reveal his emaciated torso with protruding ribs and bare feet, all below an incised thirty-nine-character Imperial inscription, the reverse skillfully carved as craggy rockwork, the large boulder of semi-translucent pale green tone with russet inclusions cleverly integrated in the carving, box. 26.5cm (10 1/2in) high (2).
|清乾隆 青白玉雕御製十六羅漢贊山子Provenance:A distinguished Asian private collection來源：顯赫亞洲私人收藏The present lot belongs to an important group of closely related Imperial jade carvings carved with a luohan in a mountain grotto. The subject matter may have derived from a woodblock print on the theme, printed in the 18th century catalogue Gu yu tu pu (古玉圖譜), attributed to the Southern Song dynasty. The luohan depicted in the present lot may be identified as Ajita, one of the Sixteen Luohans.Buddhism as the foremost state religion during the Qing dynasty received great attention during the reign of the Qianlong emperor. The emperor ordered the Court painter Ding Guanpeng (1708-1771) to paint the sixteen luohans after the original set by Guanxiu (823-912) that he had seen during his visit to Hangzhou in 1757. The inscription carved on the present lot was part of the Qianlong emperor's appraisal of Guanxiu's painting, which was recorded in the Yu zhi wen ji chu ji or Anthology of the Emperor's Writings First Edition, vol.29.For closely related examples of jade 'luohan' boulders carved with inscriptions see one from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, with the inscription denoting the luohan Cūdapanthaka, illustrated in The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Qing Court, Taipei, 1997, p.148, fig.43; another example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Jadeware (II), Shanghai, 2008, p.76, no.56; two further examples, one un-inscribed but of similar jade stone and inclusions, 17th-18th century, and another with an inscription, 18th century, in the British Museum, London, illustrated by J.Rawson, Chinese Jade: From the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pp.409-410, no.29:19 and fig.1; and one inscribed and carved with the luohan Kanaka, 18th century, from the Heber R. Bishop Collection, is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc.no.02.18.640)Possibly originating in Kashmir, images of luohans (also known as arhats) were brought to China in the 5th century AD. Their names were later identified in Chinese by the early Tang dynasty monk Xuanzang in 654 AD. According to early texts, these divine beings are advanced disciples of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni who epitomise the ideals of self-discipline and meditation. Having reached the end of the Eight-Fold Path, they have postponed Nirvana in order to remain in the world to protect the Buddhist law until the coming of the future redeeming Buddha Maitreya. For further discussion of images of the luohan, see W.Ho and W.C.Fong, 'Some Buddhist Images' in Possessing the Past: Treasures from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1996, pp.210-217.Compare with a related but un-inscribed greenish-white jade 'luohan and grotto' group, Qianlong, which was sold at Christie's London, 15 May 2018, lot 94.青白玉質，局部深褐色斑沁及綹紋。山子隋形而雕，略為長方形，山峰聳立，陡崖峭壁，奇山仙洞深處，阿資答尊者靠壁而坐，一腿盤坐，一腿彎曲，雙手抱膝，靜坐入定。羅漢面容安詳，深眼長眉，身著長袍，胸骨及雙腳外露，禪意深遠。山石平滑處，陰刻楷書「御製十六羅漢贊」，並題字「抱膝獨坐，嗒然若忘。心是菩薩，貌是鬼王。左栴檀塗，右利刀割。何怨何恩？平等解脫」。山子背面浮雕山石巒峰，並以陰刻花草點綴。乾隆皇帝篤信佛教，他於1757年第二次南巡期間，到杭州西湖聖恩寺禮拜，並首次看到該寺收藏的貫休十六羅漢圖，對之大為欣賞，不但親筆在畫上題字御贊，亦命宮廷畫師丁觀鵬仿畫。此件山子上的贊文便出自乾隆御製《貫休十六應真像贊》，見《欽定四庫全書薈要，卷一萬三千二百六十八集部：御製文初集卷二十九》。類似帶有銘文的玉雕十六羅漢贊山子之例，包括台北國立故宮博物院藏一件清乾隆玉羅漢山子，著錄於《宮廷之雅：清代仿古及畫意玉器特展圖錄》，台北，1997年，頁148，圖43；北京故宮博物院藏一例，見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品大系：玉器（下）》，上海，2008年，頁76，編號56；大英博物館有兩件，一件未題詩的十八世紀玉雕羅漢山子，其玉質及皮色和本拍品相類，以及另一件帶有題詩的青玉羅漢山子，見J.Rawson，《Chinese Jade: From the Neolithic to the Qing》，倫敦，1995年，頁409-410，編號29:19及圖1；另見大都會博物館藏一件十八世紀青玉雕御題詩羅漢山子（博物館編號02.18.640)。宮廷造辦處和各級官員為投乾隆帝之所好，以貫休或丁觀鵬等人的作品為藍本，創作過一定數量以便面聖或進貢的衍生藝術品，而此類山子以及類似的玉冊則屬其中，《內務府造辦處各作成做活計清檔》上，也曾多次提及御製玉羅漢，如「青白玉一塊⋯⋯做羅漢十三尊書的紙樣呈」及「玉羅漢上舊刻之字磨去俱照新貼本文另刻字」。羅漢為釋迦牟尼之得道弟子，十六羅漢的形象或在六朝時期經克什米爾地區傳入中國，唐代高僧玄奘又將各羅漢名譯為中文，有關羅漢像的討論，參見W.Ho及W.C.Fong，「Some Buddhist Images」，刊登於《Possessing the Past: Treasures from the National Palace Museum》，台北，紐約大都會博物館，1996年，頁210-217。倫敦佳士得曾售出一件青玉雕羅漢山子，未帶銘文，2018年5月15日，拍品94。