1048

Chinese Viewing Stone, Large [174946]

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:10.00 USD Estimated At:200.00 - 400.00 USD
Chinese Viewing Stone, Large [174946]
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This lot includes a Chinese viewing stone and stand. The stone is approx. 16.5x6x10.5, with a general projectile shape with one end resembling a limb cast. Highly textured, possibly claystone or mudstone. Stand is ceramic, resembles a Roman chariot with a legionnaire's head on front. Chariot is chipped in multiple places. As displayed it resembles a cannon (open to interpretation!). From https://www.bonsai-bci.com/index.php/viewing-stone-history: "China is birthplace of stone culture. Stones were always collected for different reasons. They were used as tools but also venerated for religious, commemorative or aesthetic purposes. Since the Han dynasty (206 BCE ñ 220 CE) there are evidences that Chinese used large stones to embellish their gardens and courtyards. Literati and artists brought smaller stones of unusual shape into their studios. This way they brought the nature into their studio because stones were regarded as an incarnation of vital energy, ìKernels of Energy, Bones of Earthî (title of a treatise about the rock in Chinese Art by John Hy) so the stones represented a microcosm of the whole universe on which the scholar could meditate and admire the wonders respectively beauty of nature. Stones are symbols of harmony between men and nature. In early times such stones where placed in basins, later mounted on carved wooden stands and displayed on desks, tables or bookshelves and larger ones were set directly on the floor." Chunlin Collection. China