Scholar’s rock with overhang and perforation
This natural piece of limestone, gray with buff, caramel, and burnt sienna markings, resembles a rugged peak in miniature. Its craggy form evokes a tall overhanging cliff atop a cryptic cave. Its rough surface, layered with fissures and interspersed with indentations, reflects eons of natural erosion. It sits on a wooden stand in the form of intertwined roots, made precisely to fit its base.
The object’s dramatic silhouette and fine linear texture are characteristic of the highly prized ornamental rocks from Mount Qilian in China’s northwestern provinces of Gansu and Qinghai. The design and execution of the wooden stand embody the refinement of craftsmanship peculiar to 18th-century Chinese wood carving.
The object’s dramatic silhouette and fine linear texture are characteristic of the highly prized ornamental rocks from Mount Qilian in China’s northwestern provinces of Gansu and Qinghai. The design and execution of the wooden stand embody the refinement of craftsmanship peculiar to 18th-century Chinese wood carving.
Artwork Details
- 清 祁連賞石
- Title: Scholar’s rock with overhang and perforation
- Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
- Date: 18th century
- Culture: China
- Medium: Gray Qilian limestone with buff, caramel, and burnt sienna markings
- Dimensions: H. 9 15/16 in. (25.2 cm); W. 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm); D. 4 5/16 in. (11 cm)
- Classification: Sculpture
- Credit Line: Rosenblum Family Collection, Gift of Anna Rosenblum Palmer, 2012
- Object Number: 2012.578a, b
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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