An exceptionally rare pale green jade imperially-inscribed 'luohan' boulderQianlong six-character mark and of the period
Masterfully carved in varying levels of relief with a luohan seated cross-legged in a craggy grotto next to a incense burner on a ledge, wearing a pleated robe with his right hand holding a ruyi sceptre and left hand with an alms bowl, surrounded by a gnarled pine, wutong and willow trees rendered in intricate details, all beneath an incised forty-one-character inscription, the reverse carved with a pavilion amidst jagged rocks and trees, the underside with an incised Qianlong six-character mark and two additional characters yin and si (four), box. 22.3cm (8 3/4in) high (2).注脚清乾隆戊寅年(1758) 御製青白玉雕第四嘎禮嘎尊者山子
「四」「大清乾隆年造」「寅」款
題贊：「第四嘎禮嘎尊者 戊寅 昨日過去，明日未來，孰是現在，拖眉而咍，亦水田衣，亦著於體，冷暖已知，權護惜此。」

Published and Illustrated:
Jade: Ch'ing Dynasty Treasures, Taipei, 1997, pp.66-69 and 272, no.20

Exhibited:
The Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, California, Jade: Ch'ing Dynasty Treasures from the National Museum of History, Taiwan, 7 September 1997 - 1 March 1998
The Houston Museum of Natural Science, Texas, Jade: Ch'ing Dynasty Treasures from the National Museum of History, Taiwan, 3 April - 7 September 1998
National Geographic Society Museum Explorer Hall, Washington D.C., Jade: Ch'ing Dynasty Treasures from the National Museum of History, Taiwan, 8 October 1998 - 3 January 1999

出版：
《清代玉雕之美》，國立歷史博物館，台北，1997年，頁66-69及272，編號20

展覽：
美國加州寶爾博物館，1997年9月7日至1998年3月1日
德州休士頓自然科學博物館，1998年4月3日至9月7日
華盛頓國際地理協會探險家博物館，1998年10月8日至1999年1月3日

The inscription may be translated as:

'Fourth Arhat Kalika
Wuyin year
Yesterday is the past, tomorrow is the future.
Who is the present? Dragging the eyebrow while laughing.
Wearing the patchwork robe on the body,
already being aware of the cold and warmth,
while temporarily protecting it'.

The imperial poem is dated to the wuyin year, the 23rd year of the Qianlong reign (corresponding to 1758), which was then published in Yuzhi wen chu ji (Anthology of the Emperor's Writings First Edition) in the 29th year of the Qianlong period (corresponding to 1764). The poem is derived from the Qianlong emperor's appraisal and admiration of the Tang dynasty painter-poet-monk Guanxiu's painting of the Sixteen Luohans, leading to the emperor ordering the court painter Ding Guanpeng (1708-1771) to copy the paintings that he had seen during his visit to Hangzhou in 1757.

The present boulder is a remarkable example of an imperial jade carving exhibiting superb craftsmanship of the jade ateliers during the Qianlong reign, successfully achieving a three-dimensional sense by using a multi-depth carving technique on the precious stone.

For related examples of jade 'luohan boulders carved with inscriptions see one from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, with the inscription denoting the luohan Cūdapanthaka, illustrated in The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Qing Court, Taipei, 1997, p.148, fig.43; another example is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Jadeware (II), Shanghai, 2008, p.60, no.46; see also a further example in the British Museum, London, illustrated by J.Rawson, Chinese Jade: From the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, p.410, fig.1; and one inscribed and carved with the luohan Kanaka, 18th century, from the Heber R. Bishop collection, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc.no.02.18.640).

Compare with an imperially-inscribed white jade 'luohan grotto, Qianlong mark and period, similarly inscribed with additional characters beside the mark in one line, which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30 May 2016, lot 3021.

青白玉質，玉質瑩若霜雪，白中閃青，山頂雕山巖層疊，崖面淺刻填石青御製詩題贊，文曰：「第四嘎禮嘎尊者 戊寅 昨日過去，明日未來，孰是現在，拖眉而咍，亦水田衣，亦著於體，冷暖已知，權護惜此。」崖下雕桐木松樹，掩映石龕，石龕內圓雕羅漢坐像，羅漢著僧衣，右手持缽，左手持如意，袈裟墜地，坐於石台，石台一側雕石座，坐上圓雕香爐，石台之下流水潺潺，其下山石峻立與山子背面所刻圖景連成一片，山子背面浮雕層巒疊嶂，林木疏影層次分明，山石之間露出山寺重檐一角，一派林泉幽境。底部刻「大清乾隆年造」六字單行楷書款，右側刻「寅」字，左側刻「四」。

戊寅，即乾隆二十三年（1758年），御題詩見《御製文初集》，出版於乾隆二十九年（1764），為《丁觀鵬摹貫休十六應真像贊》題贊組詩之一。貫休所作十六應真像之石刻存於杭州聖音寺，乾隆二十二年(1757年)，乾隆帝第二次南巡至杭州，進聖因寺瞻禮，見唐末僧人貫休所繪十六羅漢像，大為震動，隨即為之題贊題跋且令丁觀鵬以此為藍本摹畫多套十六羅漢像，再以丁畫為粉本，製作成套玉雕十六羅漢像供奉，相關討論見李中路，《乾隆御贊十六羅漢屏風》，《紫禁城》，1990年，第2期，頁21-26。兩岸故宮及海外博物館皆藏有此風格的羅漢像，且題有同一組詩。可參考台北故宮所藏一件玉雕租查巴納塔嘎尊者山子，見《宮廷之雅：清代仿古及畫意玉器特展圖錄》，台北，1997年，頁148，圖43；北京故宮藏一件御題詩羅漢贊山子，見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品大系·玉器（下）》，上海，2008年，頁60，圖版46。海外所藏可參考大英博物館藏一件玉雕拔嘎沽拉尊者山子，見J. Rawson，《Chinese Jade: from the Neolithic to the Qing》，倫敦，1995年，頁410，圖1；紐約大都會博物館藏一件玉雕嘎納嘎拔哈喇尊者山子，亦資參考，博物館編號02.18.640。

香港佳士得曾售出一件清乾隆白玉御製贊阿必達尊者山子亦資參考，2016年5月30日，拍品編號3021，該山子與本件拍品題款有相通處：皆在羅漢名後小一字號題戊寅年款；底款皆為「大清乾隆年造」，「造」字款尚不見第三例；右側皆題「寅」字款；左側數字款則皆對應羅漢順序，本件拍題詩為第四尊者，則底款數字為「四」。