A Chinese viewing stone for the scholars desk. This one is made of pure quartzite and resembles a group of ice boulders piled up perhaps like the end of a glacier. The stone measures 6 wide by 4 ½ high by 3 Ύ deep and is mounted on a nicely fitted wooden stand with legs. We believe this one dates from the late 19th to early 20th century. ... Click for details
A scholars viewing stone made from what appears to be soapstone with aggregates of other rocks different colors of grey, pale yellow, bluish grey and dark streaks. Obvious signs of some tooling to smooth the stone out and bring out the natural colors. The stone is in a poorly carved stand that has been stained a dark red it would need some more work to make it a stable stand. The stone measures 8 ½ wide by 5 ½ high by 1 Ό thick. Very hard to estimate a date we will guess late Qing ear... Click for details
A very interesting and unusual Chinese scholars viewing stone. The stone has dark green vertical striations which contrast to the underlying light white color.. The overall effect when viewed from either side is that of a thicket of bamboo in the sunlight - some people have seen it as seaweed underwater. Either way, it is a striking piece. The stone measures 8" by 7" by 2" and is in a hand carved and stained stand to keep it upright. It is in excellent condition with no chips or cracks. We da... Click for details
A Chinese scholar's stone from Laoshan Mountain in Shandong Province, China, has the craggy grey/green stone, known to collectors as Laoshan Lushi, embedded with a smooth and shiny knot-shaped vein of black stone that looks like onyx. The contrasting vein and the shape of the rock give it appeal from several sides and angles, a quality that was sought by Chinese scholar collectors who began nearly 1000 years ago bringing special stones into their studios for contemplation and display. For them, ... Click for details
DESCRIPTION: A nicely carved shoushan stone (soapstone) boulder in the form of a mountain, the stone a yellow-tan color with streaks of grey and red. On the mountain are naturalistic scenes of pine, prunus and willow trees with a house at the top whose chimney wafts smoke to the opposite side of the mountain. A nice desk object for contemplation, mid 19th century, Qing Dynasty. DIMENSIONS: 3 high (7.5 cm) x 3 Ό wide (8.5 cm).
A Chinese Bamboo carving of a Mountain, 19th century.
The mountain is perhaps mythical and magical with a myriad of tiny figures depicting immortals. The use of a distorted viewpoint to depict the boats and river is most attractive and interesting. Large bamboo carvings are scarce now and are rarely found outside of the major auction rooms.
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From the Yellow River in China's Gansu Province, this scholar's rock so clearly suggests a large setting or rising sun on the horizon that a viewer at first questions whether this color pattern actually is in the stone. It is, making this rock an unusually striking example of a scholar's stone that looks like a landscape painting. Chinese literati especially liked to meditate on rocks that represented for them a microcosm of the universe. This smooth stone meets the criterion set forth by the 19... Click for details
Thin vertical veins in shades of green and white give this Chinese scholar's rock the frozen, glacial feel of its origin, Liaoning Province in Manchuria, just above the border with North Korea. It is a dense, heavy stalactite, always cool to the touch, that resembles a mountain cliff. The mountainous area where it originated is dotted with Taoist monasteries and caves. The period when it was collected as a scholar's rock is less certain than its place of origin but we believe it was near the end... Click for details
A dense cross-hatching of white striations emphasizes the wrinkles on this small Chinese scholar's rock. The shape of the stone and the red/gold deposits spread across the surface suggest a wrinkled, roaring tiger. This stone most likely was harvested and collected by its original owner during the early 20th century, possibly near the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is an unusual stone because it embodies within its small size many qualities that were sought after by the scholar/collector--striation... Click for details
Named "Lake and Lotus" by a former owner, this polished slab scholar's rock is classified as a "fantastic" or representational stone, one in which viewers see pictures from this and other worlds. While there may be a lake and lotus in the shapes created by the stone's natural color patterns, there is a stronger image of the torso of an exuberant dancer with arms thrown up in the air over his/her head, so it may just as appropriately be named "The Dancer." Whatever picture a viewer sees, this sto... Click for details
