Antique Chinese Scholar Rock Yingde Stone on Display Stand

Description

An intriguing Chinese scholar rock in vertical form presented on a custom hand-carved wood stand circa late Qing Dynasty. The … more An intriguing Chinese scholar rock in vertical form presented on a custom hand-carved wood stand circa late Qing Dynasty. The greyish black stone is of Yingde type. Its upright form is poetic and nicely balanced, reminding one the limestone formation at the exotic places like Zhangjiajie. The stone features pronounced schisms, layers of sharp edges and gullies, folding lines. White mineral veins zigzag across the surface. What is unusual about this stone is that when viewed from different angles, it provided very different profiles as if it were many stones in one.
Yingde stone was harvested from Guangdong province in Southern China, one of the four famous types of Chinese viewing stones (also known as Gongshi, meditation stone or spirit stone). Yingde stone is priced for its wrinkled surface full of furrows and gullies and sculptural form that tends to be thin and slender, the stone best embodies the concepts of Shou (thinness) and Zhou (wrinkles), which are cherished by the collectors as it evokes the ideal of a mountainous landscape. The highly priced scholar rocks have long been revered by Chinese literati dating back to Tang/Song Dynasty. Formed through geologic processes, these rocks beguile connoisseurs with their dynamic form and the interplay of positive and negative space. The exodus of energy and enigma is mediated upon and interpreted by the individual viewer. More than decorative, the stones reflect a cultivated endeavor to contain the nature in one's study and mind.
For two similar Ying stone, see illustrations on 90 and 92 in the book " Spirit Stone The Ancient Art of the Scholar's Rock by Kemin Hu and Thomas S. Elias". less