A fine and rare gilt-painted jade book of Sixteen Luohan China, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong period

comprised of eight rectangular white jade panels, mounted within a paper album lined with yellow damask woven with five-clawed dragons, each jade panel lightly incised on both sides and then painted in two distinct tones of gilding, in the style of Guanxiu or influenced by woodblock prints, with figures of the disciples of Buddha in various animated poses in rocky landscapes below long inscriptions in kaishu (running script) numbering and naming the figures, the scenes distinguished by different expressions on each face, and by demon attendants or various attributes and animals

Reputedly from a French private collection

This rare set of jade tablets follows the tradition of luohan (Sanskrit: arhat) imagery derived from the Five Dynasties monk-painter Guanxiu (b. 832-912), whose unique depictions of the Sixteen Luohan as ascetic old men with foreign features occupy the foremost position in the development of luohan iconography in China. A particular fashion and prestige for jade books of this type depicting the Sixteen Luohan in the style of Guanxiu, seems to have occurred under the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, who personally sought to preserve Guanxiu’s images and provide greater accessibility to them by commissioning the engraving of Guanxiu’s Sixteen Luohan onto stone tablets and ordering copies to be set up in eighteen provinces.

In a related jade book in the Chester Beatty Library that is partially illustrated in William Watson, Chinese Jade Books in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, 1963, pls. 6-7 and that appears to be the only jade book of this type in a public collection, the portraits of the Sixteen Luohan and accompanying inscriptions closely resemble the stone tablets commissioned by the Qianlong Emperor, suggesting that it may have been produced in the imperial jade workshops. The five-clawed dragon detailing to the damask lining of the album may support its Imperial origins.

A preliminary reading of the images may indicate the following order of identification of the Luohan images: Cula-panthaka, Ajita, Vanavasi, Rahula, Nagasena, Panthaka, Subinda, Vajraputra, Nakula, Angaja, Kalika, Pindola-bharadvaja, Kanaka-paridhvaja, Kanaka-vatsa, Jivaka, and Bhadra. It is also interesting to note that the iconography of the Sixteen Luohan, more popular in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, is clearly distinct from that of the Eighteen Luohan, which became more popular in the late Qing dynasty. Various elements in the present book, such as the single-horned bull, pagoda, and demon attendants, are also seen on a seventeenth century scroll after Ding Yunpeng, exhibited Unveil Arhats - Encounter the Arhats, Broaden your Mind, Taipei, 2003, pp.70-87.

Luohans represent the major disciples of the historical Buddha, Sakyamuni, who through wisdom and asceticism have reached the end of the Eight-Fold Path, ie. enlightenment, and have thus escaped the endless cycle of rebirths. Although they have achieved Buddha-hood, they have remained on earth to protect and defend the faith until the advent of Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future.  They are believed to have perfect wisdom and knowledge of all things, are freed from sensual desires and can give perfection to others. They are also said to be invested in supernatural powers. The development of this belief is somewhat obscure. Before his death, Sakyamuni entrusted the propagation of his faith to four followers, bhiksus, named Kasyapa, Pindola, Kundhadana and Rahula, who were to protect the four quarters of the world. To give them support in this task, the number of the protectors of the faith was later increased to sixteen. The number sixteen can be traced back to at least the fifth century; a full list of sixteen names was recorded in a translation by the famous monk Xuanzang done in 653 / 4 AD, after his return to China from a long sojourn in India. Compare a set of sixteen gilt-lacquered wood luohan figures, from the Qing dynasty, sold in these rooms, March 27, 2003, lot 16.