Lot 12 清乾隆 綠地剔紅十八羅漢圖筆筒 | A RARE CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER 'EIGHTEEN LUOHANS' BRUSHPOT, BITONG

清乾隆 綠地剔紅十八羅漢圖筆筒 | A RARE CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER 'EIGHTEEN LUOHANS' BRUSHPOT, BITONG

Qianlong

GBP 40,000

GBP 40000 - 60000

未知

未知

Qianlong
Carved in deep layers of cinnabar lacquer with exquisite precision, the continuous scene unfolding around the exterior depicting Luohans with animated expressions in various pursuits including scratching their backs, others stroking long eyebrows, perched in trees, reciting sutras by the water, or confronting a tiger, their robes rendered with meticulous detail, all amidst a rugged landscape of rocks, trees, and swirling whirlpools, a dragon rising from the waves, all set against a black lacquer diaper-pattern ground, supported on four bracket feet and rising to an everted rim, box. 17cm (6 5/8in) diam. (2).
Footnotes
清乾隆 綠地剔紅十八羅漢圖筆筒
Provenance:
John Berwald, London
Published and Illustrated:
S.Marsh, Brushpots: A Collector's View, Hong Kong, 2020, pp.82-85.
倫敦古董商John Berwald
墨一閑，《筆筒淵鑑：收藏家的隨心所悟》，香港，2020年，第82-85頁
A similar cinnabar lacquer brushpot with Luohans, in the Qing Court Collection, mid Qing dynasty, is illustrated in , Shenzhen, 2006, p.97, no.66. See also another similar cinnabar lacquer brushpot with Luohans, 18th century, illustrated in Hung's Arts Foundation, , Taipei, 2011, p.185, fig.10.
The Qianlong Emperor's particular interest in Luohans is well documented. In 1757, during his inspection of the Shenying Temple in present-day Hangzhou, the Emperor encountered Guanxiu's celebrated paintings of Luohans, executed in 891. Deeply moved by the images, he composed a poem for each figure and commissioned the Court artist Ding Guanpeng to make copies, which he personally inscribed. In the following decades, the Qianlong Emperor ordered the Luohans to be reproduced in a variety of media, making the subject especially appropriate to the artistic patronage of his reign. See, for example, the and lacquer sixteen double-sided panels depicting Luohans after Guanxiu, Qianlong, illustrated in , New Haven, 2010, no.26.
Guanxiu's Luohans were renowned for their strikingly individualised and unconventional physiognomies, with gaunt faces, deeply furrowed brows and piercing eyes conveying the spiritual endurance of ascetic practice. His depictions, first conceived in 891, exerted a profound influence on later representations of the Luohans in China, their expressive intensity departing markedly from the idealised Buddhist figures of earlier Tang painting; see , New Haven and London, 1997, pp.88–89.
The present composition captures this duality of transcendence and personality. Some Luohans appear gaunt and contemplative, others animated or eccentric, their luxuriant eyebrows and expressive features lending both gravitas and humanity to the scene. The balance between disciplined carving and animated narrative reflects a sophisticated understanding of both sculptural form and religious meaning.
See a very similar rare Imperial carved cinnabar lacquer 'Luohan' brushpot, 18th century, which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 November 2024, lot 1366. See also another very similar carved cinnabar lacquer brushpot, 18th century, which was sold at Sotheby's New York, 15 September 2015, lot 238.