Printed from Woolley & Wallis

Description

A GOOD CHINESE SOAPSTONE FIGURE OF VAJRAPUTRA
EARLY 18TH CENTURY

The luohan carved sitting with his left knee raised holding a Buddhist lion, which clambers up his knee to pull playfully on one of his pendulous earrings, his face with a humorous expression and well-delineated features, his loose flowing robes open at the chest and incised with two cranes, ruyi-shaped clouds and with floral borders to the hems, all with traces of polychromy and gilding, on a black soapstone quatrefoil base incised with diaper and foliate scrolls, with a paper label for John Sparks Ltd, 11.8cm.

Provenance: purchased from John Sparks Ltd, London, 10th June 1970, a copy of the receipt is available.

Vajraputra, literally translating to 'man of cats', is known as xiaoshi luohan or the laughing lion luohan, and represents playfulness and freedom from inhibition. He is one of the eighteen luohans, the original disciples of Buddha, who followed the Noble Eightfold Path to attain the four stages of enlightenment and reach the state of Nirvana. They were commanded to await the coming of the future Buddha, Maitreya, acting as guardians of the Buddhist faith. According to legend, prior to converting to Buddhism Vajraputra was a lion hunter. However, after attaining enlightenment he was approached by a playful lion who recognised that he was no longer a threat and showed gratitude for his reformation. As such, he is often depicted together with a Buddhist lion demonstrated in the example offered here. For a similar eighteenth-century soapstone figure of Vajraputra with a Buddhist lion, see Bonhams New Bond Street, 12 May 2016, Lot 115.

十八世紀早期 壽山石獅吼羅漢像
來源：1970年6月10日購於倫敦 John Sparks 古董店（附發票複印件）。