A RARE AND FINE SPINACH-GREEN JADE CARVED 'EIGHT LUOHANS' TABLE SCREEN Qianlong/Jiaqing (2)A RARE AND FINE SPINACH-GREEN JADE CARVED 'EIGHT LUOHANS' TABLE SCREENQianlong/JiaqingOf rectangular form, crisply carved to one side with eight Luohans at leisure in a rocky grotto, each with their respective attribute, the reverse with gilt inscriptions identifying the name of each Luohan and a description, the stone of dark green tone suffused with faint cloudy inclusions, all within a border decorated with striding dragons and wispy clouds, two seal marks reading bide ('compare yourself to jade') and langrun ('bright and lustrous'), with a later lacquered wood stand. 28cm (11in) high (2).清乾隆/嘉慶 碧玉雕羅漢圖硯屏「比德」、「朗潤」印Provenance: William Clayton Ltd., London, 1 November 1977James Basil Wilson and Julia Wilson, and thence by descentIn 1945, James Basil Wilson returned from The Second World War having served with the Gurkhas. He married Julia Burke in 1949 and they moved to London. James started working for Iron and Steel Exporters and later that year, he was offered the chance to set up an office Hong Kong, so they moved there and set up home. The business was successful, they loved Hong Kong and they lived the life of ex-patriates to the full. They swam, played golf, made friends and indulged their passion for fast cars, competing in amateur road races. Julia claimed to have won at the first Macau Grand Prix. As well as enjoying the pastimes of the culture they brought with them, they developed an enduring love for China, Chinese people, Chinese food and Chinese art. With a growing family, they returned to England in 1957. They brought with them the pieces they had bought in Hong Kong and James made many trips to Hong Kong and continued to build their collection throughout the following decades mainly from dealers in London.來源：倫敦古董商William Clayton Ltd.，1977年11月1日James Basil Wilson與Julia Wilson伉儷舊藏，並由後人保存迄今James Basil Wilson二戰期間曾於廓爾喀軍團服役，1945年返回英國。 1949年與Julia Burke結婚，婚後搬至倫敦，並開始為Iron and Steel Exporters效力，同年被委任籌備香港辦事處，遂移居香港。事業發展蒸蒸日上的同時，Wilson伉儷也充分享受著外派人士的理想生活；游泳、打高爾夫、結交朋友，沉迷賽車運動甚至參加業餘車手街道賽，Julia聲稱曾完賽首屆澳門格蘭披治大賽車。在保留西方生活方式的同時，Wilson伉儷也對中國及其民眾、美食和藝術產生了長久的熱情。 1957年，隨著家庭的不斷壯大，Wilson一家回到英國，並帶回了其在香港購置的藝術品。此後，James多次前往香港，並在接下來的幾十年中持續造訪倫敦的古董商，擴充藏品。The present screen is superbly carved with eight Luohans, including Bakula, Rāhula, Cūdapanthaka, Pinola Bhāradvāja, Panthaka, Nāgasena, Gopaka, and Abheda. The screen would have been part of a pair of screens making a total of sixteen luohans. Luohans, known as 'Guardians of the Buddhist law', became popular in China in the 7th century, and their numbers varied, from sixteen to eighteen. They are extremely rare, and few published examples have been found. See one very similar example of a jade screen with luohans, 18th century, illustrated by G.Wills, Jade of the East, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, 1972, p.105.In 1757 the Qianlong emperor visited the Shengyin temple in present-day Hangzhou, to personally inspect the Luohan paintings by Guanxiu made in 891 AD. The emperor was deeply moved by the paintings and wrote a poem for each of the Luohans depicted in the paintings. He then instructed the Court artist Ding Guanpeng to create copies of Guanxiu's Luohans, which the emperor inscribed. In the following decades the Qianlong emperor had artisans reproduce the images in a variety of materials including jade, and the present screen is one such testament to the emperor's personal devotion. Luohan images appeared repeatedly through the emperor's garden in the Ningshougong in the Forbidden City and particularly in Yanghe, Jingshe and Yunguanlou, depicted in paintings, kesi screens and jade; see for example a zitan, lacquer jade and gilt-decorated sixteen-leaf screen, Qianlong, in the Yunguanglou, illustrated by N.Berliner, The emperor's Private Paradise: Treasures from the Forbidden City, New Haven, 2010, pp.164-171; see also a green jade set of the Eighteen Luohans, Qing dynasty, in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 8 Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, no.266.The gilt inscriptions incised on the reverse of the screen are the poems written by the Qianlong emperor, which make it likely that this screen was specially commissioned by the emperor or presented to him as tribute. They have been translated as follows:The Ninth Reverend One, Vajraputra,I am supplied with everything; Which is dear to me and which is not?I pat the flying squirrel with my hands, Being pleased with its tame nature.Tameness gives no trouble; To be pleased implies having no worry.All living creatures and I live at leisure in the kingdom of Buddha The Tenth Reverend One, Rahula, The Buddha can transform matter; All living creatures are transformed by matter.He who knows this truth has a large eye in his forehead. The Reverend One holds the seven jewelled hat And will offer it to the Buddha What is he capable of doing? It is understood that he has done many thingsThe Eleventh Reverend One, CudapanthakaHe sits upright with the hands joining.What supernatural power does he possess?One school refers to objective existences the other to non-objective; Which of the two is the true sect?The round nimbus behind his headIs like the moon after passing through his bosom.When his peregrinations are ended,A few pairs of straw sandals will have been used.The Twelfth Reverend One, PindolabharadvajaHis left hand holds a Sanskrit book;His right one an alms bowl.Whether he journeys, stays, sits or sleeps, He never does so in excess.When the Buddha was in the world,He saved this old man.As a lion roars,So preached he sermons with vigour.The Thirteenth Reverend one, PanthakaThe books of BuddhaAre held in his hands.His face is flushed like the red clouds of sunset or sunrise, Or as if he were drunk with wine.Of the 'Four truths'He has not any doubt.It was heard that PanthakaWas spoken of by BuddhaThe Fourteenth Reverend One, NagasenaHe has roused himself with the Buddhist abbot's staff, Gazing fixedly and inclining his ear to listen.Does he see or hear?He does neither.His left hand holds a washing vase Containing a wish-realising pearlWish is a false term,For how could a pearl realise one's wish?the Fifteenth Reverend One, KouPakasvaka I look at the four great elements; They are real and constant.The water flows, the stone is coldThe wind is blowing and the flower is fragrant.He has put the sutra down askew beside him And stares at it with his two eyes.Why does he not open and read it?It satisfies him without doing so.The Sixteenth Reverend One, AjitaThough the forms of things are illusions, An adult is superior to the aged.He himself did not chooseTo protect the 'Three treasures! His two hands hold a pagodaThe material of which is gold.Since the time of the Lotus of the Wonderful Law It has manifested itself to the present day.By the emperor.The wording of the first seal reads: 'Compared with virtue' the second seal reads: 'Translucent and unctuous 'Compare also with a similar spinach-green jade 'Luohans' screen, Qianlong, illustrated and exhibited at Bonhams London, Reginald and Lena Palmer, Their Collection and The Oriental Ceramic Society, 1921-1970, London, 2021, pp.30-33.