Page 91 - Chinese Art From The Scholars Studio, 2015, J.J. Lally, New York

52. A n i n s C r i B e d l i n g B i r o C K
17th – 18th Century

of rough arched form evoking a natural stone bridge or the entrance to a cave or grotto above water,
the surface richly textured and with lustrous patina, inscribed with two characters: 拱璧, which may be
read as “gong bi” and with an indecipherable seal, raised on a knobbly Jiangnan style hongmu stand.

10½ × 4 × 6/8 inches (26.5 × 10 × 15.5 cm)
1
Lingbi rocks, associated with Lingbi county in Anhui province, have been highly prized since the Song dynasty. According to
Hugh T. Scogin, Jr., ‘A Note on Lingbi’, Mowry et. al. Worlds Within Worlds, Harvard University, Cambridge, 1997, p. 48, a local
Anhui gazetteer, writing during the Song period, reported that the name 靈璧 (Lingbi) “Spirit Stone”, was officially assigned by
decree in A.D. 1117, and that “… Lingbi stone is treasured by all under heaven; its sound is like bronze and its color like the jade
of bi disks… ”.

十七－十八世紀 《拱璧》銘 靈璧石擺件 26.5 × 10 × 15.5 厘米