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Lot Essay
The figure shown seated in contemplation represents the historical monk known as Damo in China, Daruma in Japan and Bodhidharma in India, whose teachings eventually became the foundation of Chan (Zen) Buddhism. Damo is often depicted standing barefoot on a reed leaf, representing the episode when he crossed the Yangtze River in this manner to evade pursuers. But here he is shown seated in contemplation in a cave, referring to the nine years Damo spent in a cave, facing a wall and meditating. The inscription carved on the cliff face above is an imperial poem by Emperor Qianlong titled Damo mian bi tu (Meditation of Damo), which aptly describes the scene. This representation is also seen in Dehua figures of Damo, where he is shown seated on a mat with his robe pulled around him in a manner similar to that of the present figure. These Dehua figures include one in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, illustrated by D. P. Leidy et al., Wisdom Embodied, Chinese Buddhist and Daoist Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2010, p. 162, and another sold at Christie's New York, 20 March 2014, lot 162.
The present carving is related to other jade carvings that show a luohan seated in a grotto or carved in the side of a mountain. Carvings of this type are often of late Ming or early Qing date. J. Rawson in Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pp. 410-11, notes that these carvings may have been inspired by a woodblock print in the eighteenth-century catalogue, Gu yu tu pu, illustrated p. 411, fig. 2, where a luohan (possibly Damo) is shown seated on a mat in a setting of rocks and clouds. Rawson goes on to mention the "close relationship" of these jade carvings to the painting tradition that showed luohans "who retreated to meditate in mountainous landscapes." These paintings sometimes included an inscription commenting on the scene, a practice that most likely influenced the jade carvers who sometimes included an inscription on a smooth rock face of the mountainside.
The present carving is related to other jade carvings that show a luohan seated in a grotto or carved in the side of a mountain. Carvings of this type are often of late Ming or early Qing date. J. Rawson in Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pp. 410-11, notes that these carvings may have been inspired by a woodblock print in the eighteenth-century catalogue, Gu yu tu pu, illustrated p. 411, fig. 2, where a luohan (possibly Damo) is shown seated on a mat in a setting of rocks and clouds. Rawson goes on to mention the "close relationship" of these jade carvings to the painting tradition that showed luohans "who retreated to meditate in mountainous landscapes." These paintings sometimes included an inscription commenting on the scene, a practice that most likely influenced the jade carvers who sometimes included an inscription on a smooth rock face of the mountainside.