A RARE GRISAILLE PORCELAIN BRUSH POT, China, mark and period of Daoguang (1821-1850)

Cylindrical in shape and with a gilded rim, it is finely decorated in grisaille, iron red and gold with a continuous scene depicting the Eighteen Luohans; on the base it bears the six-character iron red seal mark of the Daoguang Emperor.

Provenance: -Private collection, Italy.

Catalogue notes: In Chinese Buddhism, the Eighteen Luohans (or Ahrats) are depicted as the original followers of Gautama Buddha, who have undertaken the Noble Eightfold Path and reached the Four Stages of Awakening. 

In Chinese art, they are depicted as eighteen, unlike other cultures such as Japan, where sixteen are depicted. This difference is probably due to the depictions of the monk Guanxiu from 891 A.D., considered the earliest Chinese depictions of the Luohans.

See the snuff bottle with the identical decoration of the Eighteen Luohans in grisaille, iron red and gold, also marked and from the Daoguang period sold by Sotheby's, auction number HK0463, Snuff Bottles from the Mary and George Bloch Collection Part VI; 27 May 2013, Hong Kong; lot. 235.