Chinese Scholar's Rock

A stone that has mistaken itself for weather.

This scholar's rock is Southern Taihu stone with a hardwood base, from Lake Tai, Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China. Its age is indeterminate. Stones from Lake Tai, full of hollows and sharp profiles, have been hauled out for many centuries to stand in Chinese gardens and scholars' studios as objects of contemplation. This pale grey example flares out from a narrow root into ragged, wing-like sheets with deep scooped pockets. The dark base has a band of rounded bosses and four curling legs. Sixteen inches wide and fourteen high.

Gravity has raised no objection yet.