A rare Imperial pale green jade figure of a luohan


18th CenturyFinely carved in the form of a standing emaciated ascetic with a grin on his face, draped in loose-fitting robes and tied by a woven strip on the waist, the left hand holding a ruyi and the right hand holding a branch of Rohdea japonica, the stone of celadon tone with russet inclusion to the back, with an original green stained ivory stand, wood stand. 16.5cm (6 1/2in) high (3).
|十八世紀 御製青玉雕羅漢立像Provenance: Lady Lindsay collection (label)With Spink & Son Ltd., London or Louis Joseph Ltd., London, by reputeAn English private collection, acquired from the above by the grandmother of the present owner, and thence by descent來源：Lindsay夫人舊藏（標籤）據傳為倫敦斯賓克或Louis Joseph有限公司售出英國私人收藏，由現藏家祖母由以上購得並由家人繼承The emaciated ascetic probably could be identified as 'Panthaka', the thirteenth arhat or luohan by the ruyi in his hand, according to the painting fang guanxiu hua luohan (After the Painting of Sixteen Luohan by Guanxiu) by the court painter Xu Yang (1712-1779), see the Illustrated Catalog of Painting and Calligraphy in the National Palace Museum, vol.13, Taipei, 1994, pp.339-340. The poem on the painting reading: 眸面盎背，趺坐以居。內空外空，表裏一如。指揮如意，天花自語。非雖摩室，而亦不著。 which can be translated as: (He) has eyes looking down and back hunching up, sitting as living.(His) inside and outside is void, as his appearance and heart are the same. (He) holds a ruyi in his hand, the heaven flower (in his hand) is self-talking. Although (he) has no enchantment, (he has) achieved the enlightenment. This figure holds a Rohdea japonica, or wannian qing in Chinese, probably refers to the 'heaven flower' in the poem. Luohan was a popular theme in the imperial works of art during Qing dynasty, which can be found in various media including painting, porcelain, jade and soapstone carving. Compare with two related pale green jade figures of luohans, Qing dynasty, from the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 8 Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, nos.244 and 245.青玉質，略帶黃皮。圓雕羅漢一尊，羅漢頭骨瘦癯，寬額方面，大耳垂肩，微露笑意。身著寬袍大袖，腰繋繩索，腳踏方履。右手持如意，左手持一把萬年青，這一形象或為十六尊者之第十三巴納塔嘎尊者，清宮舊藏之徐揚所繪《仿貫休十六羅漢》中便有類似形象，見《故宮名畫選粹》，卷十三，台北，1994年，頁339至340。畫中第十三幅題贊：眸面盎背，趺坐以居。內空外空，表裏一如。指揮如意，天花自語。非雖摩室，而亦不著。 其中「指揮如意，天花自語」或為此件玉雕羅漢手執如意和萬年青的形象。此件羅漢且配鏤空雕雕花染綠色象牙座，其下再配硬木座，吻合嚴實。清代以來，羅漢成為流行的美術題材，各類材質的工藝作品皆有所見，瓷玉牙竹，不一而足。類似作品可參考北京故宮藏兩件青玉雕羅漢，見《故宮博物院藏品大系玉器篇8》，北京，2011年，編號244及245。