A fine and rare white jade carving of Vajraputra and lion


Possibly Yuan/Ming DynastyExquisitely carved as the Eighth Luohan clad in tunic and crowned with a diadem over his tonsured and finely incised curly hair, holding onto a rope tied to a tame lion, the mane cascading over the neck and shoulders flanking the knobbly spine reaching the bushy tail, the haunches with flame-scrolls, pierced, the stone of translucent white tone with minor russet inclusions, box. 4.2cm (1 5/8in) long (2).
|或元/明 白玉雕笑獅羅漢Provenance: Durwin Tang Collection來源：鄧德雍收藏The present lot depicts Vajraputra, Xiaoshi ('the luohan who plays with a lion' 笑獅羅漢). Often this subject matter can be confused with that of foreigners bringing tribute. In the present lot superbly carved in a lustrous white jade the luohan is holding onto a rope tied to the joyful lion. Vajraputra was a lion hunter before converting to Buddhism. After attaining enlightenment, a little lion came playfully to his side. The animal seemed to be grateful to him for giving up the life of killing lions, sparing its parents and brothers. Since then, Vajraputra and the lion have become inseparable. The lion, with its roar, symbolises the invincibility of Buddhism.Compare with a related white jade carving of a dancing foreigner and lion, Tang dynasty, illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 5 Tang, Song, Liao, Jin and Yuan Dynasties, Beijing, 2011, p.34, no.16. See also the hairstyle and diadem on a pale green and russet jade figure of a tribute-bearer, Tang/ Song dynasty, illustrated by Wu Hung and B.Morgan, Chinese Jades from the Mu-Fei Collection, Bluett & Sons Ltd., London, 1990, no.41.