A large, lyrical, pierced limestone, "Lingbi" scholars rock, with a dramatic overhang above craggy protrusions. Mounted on a free-form, carved wood base.
Known as Gongshi or spirit stones, they are, according to a 2000 exhibit from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "...Pitted, hollowed out, and perforated, [and] such rocks, which are often displayed on end, are seen as embodiments of the dynamic transformational processes of nature.... [These] rocks were also admired for their resemblance to mountains or caves, particularly the magical peaks and subterranean paradises (grotto-heavens) believed to be inhabited by immortal beings."
