Chinese Four Arhats Lidded Temple Jar

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Chinese porcelain Four Arhats Lidded jar, a finely formed heavy vase with a polychrome exterior and a white glazed, short … Read more Chinese porcelain Four Arhats Lidded jar, a finely formed heavy vase with a polychrome exterior and a white glazed, short neck, interior and inset base. The lid is topped with a red, flat circular knob and decorated with swirling clouds in oranges and reds, encircled by the Wu Fu Min Len (five red bats), ending in a wide flange, glazed in white. The body of the vase is decorated with finely drawn and detailed, grisaille depictions of four Arhats of the with orange robes and light orange halos, amid swirling clouds in glazes of reds and oranges. A red, Wang Bu artist mark in zhuanshu script within a square is glazed to the inset base. The finely carved, traditional, Chinese, small kang table is included. Circa Republic of China era, no later than mid century.

Four Arhats: Members of the Eighteen Arhats, the original followers of Gautama Buddha (arhat) who have followed the Noble Eightfold Path and attained the four stages of enlightenment. They have reached the state of Nirvana and are free of worldly cravings. They are charged to protect the Buddhist faith and to wait on earth for the coming of Maitreya, an enlightened Buddha prophesied to arrive on earth many millennia after Gautama Buddha's death (parinirvana). Those depicted (with Emperor Qianlong's Eulogy) are:

Raised Bowl Arhat: Jǔbō Luóhàn.
In majestic grandeur,
Joy descends from heaven.
Raised the bowl to receive happiness,
Glowing with jubilance and exultation.

Meditating Arhat: Jìngzuò Luóhàn.
Quietly cultivating the mind,
A countenance calm and composed.
Serene and dignified,
To enter the Western Paradise.

Thinking Arhat: Chénsi Luóhàn.
Pondering and meditating,
Understanding it all.
Above this world and free from conventions,
Compassion conveyed up to the Ninth Heaven

Overseas Arhat: Guojiāng Luóhàn
Bearing the sutras,
Sail east to spread the world.
Climbing mountains and fording streams,
For the deliverance of the humanity.

Wang Bu mark: name of Jingdezhen painter Wang Bu, (1898 - 1968). This piece is in the style of Wang Bu.
Wu Fu Min Len: five blessings, health, wealth, long life, love of virtue, and peaceful death

jar: 16.75" tall x 10.1" diameter
kang table: 4.5" tall x 17.625 wide x 11.75" deep See less