Chinese Gongshi or Spirit Stone

A stone caught mid-thought, splitting into two halves and refusing to finish the job.

This gongshi, or spirit stone, comes from Hunan Province, China. It is Wuling stone on a hardwood base, and its age is indeterminate. Chinese scholars and officials collected such stones for their studios and gardens, valuing strange natural forms as aids to contemplation and reminders of mountains. Bands of grey and tan run around the rock in rings, like contour lines on a map. A narrow gap nearly divides it in two. The dark scrolled base seems to hold it up without effort. Twenty-two and a half inches high and 17 wide.

Mountains are hard to fit on a desk. This is the alternative.