Untitled - Heather James Fine Art

Scholars RockChina, 19th CenturyYing stone17 1/2 x 7 x 11 1/2 in.3725The term “scholar’s rock” is used to describe rocks of a distinctive shape, texture, and color that were deemed appropriate for display inthe scholar’s studio. Rocks have long been admired in China as an essential element in gardens. By the early Song dynasty (960–1279),small ornamental rocks were also collected as accoutrements of the scholar’s study, and the portrayal of individual rocks—often joinedwith an old tree or bamboo—became a favorite and enduring pictorial genre. From the fourteenth century onward, depictions of gardensalmost always included representations of a fantastic rock or “artificial mountain,” and scholars’ rocks often supplanted actual scenery assources of inspiration for images of landscape.