Page 185 - 2019 September 13th Christie's New York Important Chinese Works of Art

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE MASSACHUSETTS COLLECTION
906
A ‘CALICO’ LINGBI SCHOLAR’S ROCK
The rock is pierced with one large perforation that creates depth and volume.
The pale brownish-beige stone is peppered with areas of dark grey and creamy
inclusions and the surface is textured with mottled indentations.
15 in. (38.3 cm.) high, softwood stand by Clif A. Johnson, Los Angeles,
California, 2006.
$5,000-7,000

This scholar’s rock is carved from very high-quality Lingbi stone and has a
very uniform surface with limited black and grey inclusions. The attractive
texture of the stone is visible on both the front and back, which makes it
uniquely able to be displayed and viewed in the round. Compare the related
scholar’s rock published by Robert D. Mowry, Worlds Within Worlds: The
Richard Rosenblum Collection of Chinese Scholar’s Rocks, Harvard University
Art Museums, 1997, pp. 200-2, no. 28.
靈璧石擺件

906

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE MASSACHUSETTS COLLECTION
907
A LARGE MALACHITE SCHOLAR’S ROCK
The vertical stone has inclusions of various sizes and forms
throughout that are carved with slightly concave faces revealing
the concentric rings of green color.
16 in. (40.6 cm.) high, softwood stand by Clif A. Johnson,
Los Angeles, California, 2005.
$4,000-6,000

The delicate manipulation of the polished surfaces of this large
stone evokes a bouquet of fowers, closely resembling the circular
blooms of chrysanthemum. Malachite is not a stone generally
used in traditional Chinese scholar’s rocks, but because of its
similar form, with craggy recesses and small meandering paths, it
has been accepted into the feld.
For a discussion exclusively on malachite scholar’s rocks see
Larry and Nina Ragle, A Hidden World of Green: A Study of
Similarity to Ancient Chinese and Japanese Stones: An Album
of the Malachite Collection of Ralph Johnson, Laguna Beach,
2007. For general information on malachite scholar’s rocks, see
Robert D. Mowry, Worlds Within Worlds: The Richard Rosenblum
Collection of Chinese Scholars’ Rocks, Harvard University Art
Museums, 1997, pp. 290-97, nos. 70-72.
綠松石擺件
907
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