石灰岩奇石|Scholar's Rock

Unknown

18th–20th century · Limestone; wood stand · Asian Art

This natural piece of limestone, gray with a faint tint of green, resembles a rugged mountain in miniature. Its rough surface, layered with horizontal fissures and interspersed with indentations, evokes cliff walls marked with eons of natural erosion. It sits on a wooden stand made precisely to fit its base. The stand is supported on six short legs and decorated with a row of hemispheric bosses on its outer rim. The object's dramatic silhouette and fine linear texture are characteristic of the highly prized ornamental Lingbi rocks from Lingbi County, Anhui Province. The structure and the decorative program of the wooden stand embody the elegance and refinement of craftsmanship peculiar to 18th-century Chinese wood carving.

Artist

Unknown

Date

18th–20th century

Medium

Limestone; wood stand

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Purchase, The B. D. G. Leviton Foundation Gift, in honor of Marie-Hélène Weill, 2011