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Lot Essay
Carved in relief, two inscriptions appear near the top of the rock's back face. As their kaishu, or standard-script, characters have been much eroded over the years, the inscriptions defy exact reading. Even so, it would seem that the upper inscription may be read as: Shihan renwu nian zhi. [] shi Shiyuan cang. Shiyi Lang zhen wan ('Shihan placed [this rock] in the renwu year. Treasure of the [] Stone Garden. Precious plaything of Shiyi Lang').
The lower inscription may be read as: Long(?)shi shanren zuo. Renwu nian Duanwu ri ('Made by the hermit Long(?)shi. [Made on the] day of the Dragon Boat Festival in the renwu year').
In the Chinese cyclical calendar, the renwu year corresponds to 1702 and 1762 in the eighteenth century and to 1822 and 1882 in the nineteenth century. If added when the rock was first collected, the inscription could indicate that the rock dates to circa 1762 or 1820, as, based on the rock's style, a mid-eighteenth- or early nineteenth-century date seems most likely. Tantalizing as they are, the names Shihan, Shiyi Lang ('Eleventh Son') and the 'hermit' Long(?)shi have yet to be identified with a particular individual, or individuals, so the collector(s) who added these inscriptions remains unknown.
Even so, the inscription dated to the renwu year strongly points to this rock's eighteenth- to early nineteenth-century origins and thus is in full accord with the rock's style, which eloquently expresses the Qianlong-period taste for slender-waisted, broad-shouldered rocks with deep vertical furrows and complex profiles with undulating edges. Small garden rocks of this general shape occasionally appear in eighteenth-century Chinese paintings, as witnessed by a hanging scroll by Pan Gongshou (1741-1794) titled Garden Rock and Flowers now in the collection of the Harvard Art Museums (1996.143).
The rock's dimpled surfaces closely resemble those on several Ying rocks in the Rosenblum Family Collection, including that collection's most celebrated rock, the Honorable Old Man Rock (See Robert D. Mowry, Worlds Within Worlds: The Richard Rosenblum Collection of Chinese Scholars' Rocks, Cambridge, 1997, no. 29; also see nos. 31, 38, and 40). The rock's general form compares favorably to that of several eighteenth- to nineteenth-century Lingbi stones in the Rosenblum Family Collection, including nos. 10, 12, 14, and 15, just as its relief inscriptions also find parallels amongst eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Lingbi rocks in the Rosenblum Collection, particularly nos. 8 and 9.
As noted, the inscriptions on this rock rise in low relief. Probably first written in light-toned pigment, relief inscriptions were created by abrading stone from the "background" areas, leaving the characters to rise in relief. Such inscriptions were created with drills, as revealed by open, or intaglio, elements within individual characters, which clearly exhibit the tell-tale marks of the drill bit along their edges and particularly in their squared corners. Easier to read than incised characters, relief inscriptions appear bold, even dramatic. Because of the time and skill required to create them, relief inscriptions also command greater respect than engraved, or intaglio, ones, both for their own merits and for the objects they grace. In addition, those who commissioned them doubtless hoped such relief inscriptions would amaze and mystify the less sophisticated, who would be unable to discern the means by which they were created. The disadvantage is that relief inscriptions are more easily damaged than intaglio ones, particularly when carved on such soft material as limestone; improper handling soon abrades them, rendering them illegible.
Its resemblance to a tangle of natural root indicates that the exceptionally handsome, integrally carved, openwork stand was crafted in the so-called Southern style, though its superb carving and exquisite finish suggest that it might have been created in Suzhou or another center where fine furniture was made. Southern-style stands show a marked preference for openwork designs; the most highly prized amongst them were prepared from tangled clumps of root that naturally incorporated openwork hollows. Because appropriate specimens of natural root were seldom available, stand carvers typically turned to wood - in this case, a fine hardwood - shaping it in imitation of a natural root cluster; once the form had been created, the carvers finished the surfaces with mock knots and cavities to imply that branches and tendrils had once sprouted there. This stand bears a striking similarity to several Southern-style, openwork rock stands in the Rosenblum Family Collection, particularly to a stand illustrated on p. 162 [P-7], and to the stands for nos. 31 and 52.
Named for Yingde - in central Guangdong province, about seventy-five miles north of Guangzhou (Canton) - where the earliest examples originated, Ying rocks come from numerous sources in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces. Composed of fine-grained limestone, Ying rocks typically are dark grey in color, though black, light grey, and white examples are all well attested. Due to oxidation or other natural alteration of their surfaces, grey Ying stones sometimes appear brownish grey on first inspection. Like their counterparts from Lingbi - in northern Anhui province, about 325 miles northwest of Shanghai - most Ying rocks include deposits of calcite, in the form of both continuous veins and discrete pockets; the exposed calcite ranges from white to buff. Ying rocks are traditionally prized for their intricately textured surfaces, which are often characterized as "dimpled" or "bubbled." At Yingde, rocks were harvested from caves; tradition asserts that the best examples came from caves filled with water, which imparted dark, glossy surfaces.
Robert D. Mowry
Alan J. Dworsky Curator of Chinese Art Emeritus, Harvard Art Museums, and
Senior Consultant, Christie's
The lower inscription may be read as: Long(?)shi shanren zuo. Renwu nian Duanwu ri ('Made by the hermit Long(?)shi. [Made on the] day of the Dragon Boat Festival in the renwu year').
In the Chinese cyclical calendar, the renwu year corresponds to 1702 and 1762 in the eighteenth century and to 1822 and 1882 in the nineteenth century. If added when the rock was first collected, the inscription could indicate that the rock dates to circa 1762 or 1820, as, based on the rock's style, a mid-eighteenth- or early nineteenth-century date seems most likely. Tantalizing as they are, the names Shihan, Shiyi Lang ('Eleventh Son') and the 'hermit' Long(?)shi have yet to be identified with a particular individual, or individuals, so the collector(s) who added these inscriptions remains unknown.
Even so, the inscription dated to the renwu year strongly points to this rock's eighteenth- to early nineteenth-century origins and thus is in full accord with the rock's style, which eloquently expresses the Qianlong-period taste for slender-waisted, broad-shouldered rocks with deep vertical furrows and complex profiles with undulating edges. Small garden rocks of this general shape occasionally appear in eighteenth-century Chinese paintings, as witnessed by a hanging scroll by Pan Gongshou (1741-1794) titled Garden Rock and Flowers now in the collection of the Harvard Art Museums (1996.143).
The rock's dimpled surfaces closely resemble those on several Ying rocks in the Rosenblum Family Collection, including that collection's most celebrated rock, the Honorable Old Man Rock (See Robert D. Mowry, Worlds Within Worlds: The Richard Rosenblum Collection of Chinese Scholars' Rocks, Cambridge, 1997, no. 29; also see nos. 31, 38, and 40). The rock's general form compares favorably to that of several eighteenth- to nineteenth-century Lingbi stones in the Rosenblum Family Collection, including nos. 10, 12, 14, and 15, just as its relief inscriptions also find parallels amongst eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Lingbi rocks in the Rosenblum Collection, particularly nos. 8 and 9.
As noted, the inscriptions on this rock rise in low relief. Probably first written in light-toned pigment, relief inscriptions were created by abrading stone from the "background" areas, leaving the characters to rise in relief. Such inscriptions were created with drills, as revealed by open, or intaglio, elements within individual characters, which clearly exhibit the tell-tale marks of the drill bit along their edges and particularly in their squared corners. Easier to read than incised characters, relief inscriptions appear bold, even dramatic. Because of the time and skill required to create them, relief inscriptions also command greater respect than engraved, or intaglio, ones, both for their own merits and for the objects they grace. In addition, those who commissioned them doubtless hoped such relief inscriptions would amaze and mystify the less sophisticated, who would be unable to discern the means by which they were created. The disadvantage is that relief inscriptions are more easily damaged than intaglio ones, particularly when carved on such soft material as limestone; improper handling soon abrades them, rendering them illegible.
Its resemblance to a tangle of natural root indicates that the exceptionally handsome, integrally carved, openwork stand was crafted in the so-called Southern style, though its superb carving and exquisite finish suggest that it might have been created in Suzhou or another center where fine furniture was made. Southern-style stands show a marked preference for openwork designs; the most highly prized amongst them were prepared from tangled clumps of root that naturally incorporated openwork hollows. Because appropriate specimens of natural root were seldom available, stand carvers typically turned to wood - in this case, a fine hardwood - shaping it in imitation of a natural root cluster; once the form had been created, the carvers finished the surfaces with mock knots and cavities to imply that branches and tendrils had once sprouted there. This stand bears a striking similarity to several Southern-style, openwork rock stands in the Rosenblum Family Collection, particularly to a stand illustrated on p. 162 [P-7], and to the stands for nos. 31 and 52.
Named for Yingde - in central Guangdong province, about seventy-five miles north of Guangzhou (Canton) - where the earliest examples originated, Ying rocks come from numerous sources in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces. Composed of fine-grained limestone, Ying rocks typically are dark grey in color, though black, light grey, and white examples are all well attested. Due to oxidation or other natural alteration of their surfaces, grey Ying stones sometimes appear brownish grey on first inspection. Like their counterparts from Lingbi - in northern Anhui province, about 325 miles northwest of Shanghai - most Ying rocks include deposits of calcite, in the form of both continuous veins and discrete pockets; the exposed calcite ranges from white to buff. Ying rocks are traditionally prized for their intricately textured surfaces, which are often characterized as "dimpled" or "bubbled." At Yingde, rocks were harvested from caves; tradition asserts that the best examples came from caves filled with water, which imparted dark, glossy surfaces.
Robert D. Mowry
Alan J. Dworsky Curator of Chinese Art Emeritus, Harvard Art Museums, and
Senior Consultant, Christie's