SOUTHERN SONG-EARLY MING DYNASTY, 13TH-15TH CENTURY

The two-character inscription on the underside of the present carving, chi shi, is shortened from the idiom chi shi cheng yang, which literally means to “scold” a rock to transfigure into a ram. Originally derived from an essay written by the Tang-dynasty scholar-official Gu Yun, the phrase refers to a mystical or miraculous transformation.