A pair of impressive Chinese famille rose 'hu' vases with the Eighteen Arhats or Luohans in a landscape and deer head handles, 19th C.

H 64 cm

Condition: (UV-checked)
- The first vase in very good condition, with a few superficial chips and glaze loss to the rim and some baking flaws to the overglazed enamel design above the base rim.
- The second vase in good condition, with a few superficial chips and glaze loss to the rim and some baking flaws to the overglazed enamel design above the base rim, and a circular baking line on the inside, partly visible on the outside.

品相：（已用紫外线光检查）
- 第一个鹿首尊整体品相非常良好，口沿几处典型剥釉和飞皮，圈足上侧的釉上彩部分缩釉。
- 第二个鹿首尊整体品相非常良好，口沿几处典型剥釉和飞皮，圈足上侧的釉上彩部分缩釉，尊内一条环形窑冲，尊外侧肚子下部分可见。

The Eighteen Arhats (or Luohan) (Chinese: 十八羅漢) are depicted in Chinese Buddhism as 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).

In the Chinese tradition, the Eighteen Luohans are generally presented in the order they are said to have appeared to Guan Xiu, not according to their power: Deer Sitting, Happy, Raised Bowl, Raised Pagoda, Meditating, Oversea, Elephant Riding, Laughing Lion, Open Heart, Raised Hand, Thinking, Scratched Ear, Calico Bag, Plantain, Long Eyebrow, Doorman, Taming Dragon and Taming Tiger (link).