Chinese Gongshi or Scholar's Rock, Based

A mountain in miniature, or a hooded monk, depending on the hour.

This gongshi or scholar's rock is Wujian stone from Guizhou Province, China, of indeterminate age, on a base. Chinese scholars have long treasured such stones as small landscapes to contemplate, valued for their shape, surface and suggestion. It rises from a broad lower mass to a rounded peak with a soft fold down one side. Bands of tan and pale gray cross the dark gray-green, and a fine line cuts on a diagonal. The dark hardwood base is carved with clouds and fret patterns. Twenty-three inches high and 13 wide.

Looking at it is the entire job.