Important rocher impérial en jade céladon Marque et époque Qianlong, daté de l'an wuyin du règne de l'empereur Qianlong, 1758

sculpté d'une grotte rocailleuse où médite le septième Arhat Kanakavatsa représenté de profil agenouillé sur un tapis, le dos appuyé contre une pile de livres, un poème composé par l'Empereur Qianlong finement incisé au revers, marque Yin Da Qing Qianlong nianzao Qi incisée à la base, la pierre céladon infusée d'inclusions blanches

Acquired in China before 1922.
Thence in the family by descent.

The boulder is in overall very good condition. It is crisply carved, with great attention to the figure's face and dress. There are very tiny fritts to some of the edges and raised parts of the carving. The stone is of a darker, more celadon colour than the catalogue illustration suggests and polished to a soft glow. The paper label reading 'P49' on the base of the boulder has partially come off but is there.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The inscription on the present boulder bears the title Diqi Ganagabasa zun zhe (The Seventh Arhat Kanakavatsa) and the year wuyin of the Qianlong reign, 1758. It is taken from Ding Guanpeng Guanxiu shiliu  (Encomium for the Emulation of Guanxiu's 'Sixteen Arhats' by Ding Guanpeng) composed by the Qianlong emperor and recorded in Yuzhi wenji (Imperial Literary Works Collection), Chuji (First Collection), compiled in the Siku quanshu ed. (Complete Library of the Four Treasures), juan 29:6b. It may be translated as follows:

"Spreading a mat he sits on rock, not wrinkling his brow with a frown but elegantly erect as a bamboo staff.  He indeed embodies the three bodies, at once sun-faced and moon-faced.  Breathing once in and once out, he understands one's original nature is empty, unseparated from the illusory body".

The Yuzhi wenji (Prose Collection Of His Majesty), chuji (First Collection), juan 28:12a-12b, records that the Qianlong emperor ordered the court painter Ding Guanpeng to make a copy of Guan Xiu's depiction of Sixteen Arhat and the emperor himself added his encomia to each of the sixteen portrayals, one of which is here inscribed on the back of the jade boulder.

The figure is likely to be one of a set of sixteen similar jade boulders carved after the completion of Ding Guanpeng's painting. The seventh Arhat, Kanakavatsa, transcribed in the present inscription as Ganagabasa, is also commonly rendered Jianuojiafacuo.  The “three bodies” mentioned in the inscription are the dharma-kāya, transcendence of form and realisation of true thusness; thesambhoga-kāya, the Buddha-body called “reward body” or “body of enjoyment of the merits attained as a bodhisattva”; and the nirmānakāya, the body manifested to provide teaching to sentient beings. 

As noted by Jessica Rawson in Chinese Jade. From the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pp. 409-411, a number of similar jade carvings each featuring a luohan or arhat positioned within a slighly bizarre rock formation are known, among them an example in the Art Institute of Chicago and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Rawson attributes the vogue for this particular subject to the propagation of woodblock prints in catalogues such as the 18th century Gu yu tu pu, or the highly prized rubbings of engravings of the sixteen luohan taken from carvings in the Shengyin Temple which were based on a set of paintings by Ding Guanpeng (1708-1771) which themselves were originally based on paintings by Guan Xiu ( 852-913). Ibid., p. 410-411, figs. 1 and 2.