A SOAPSTONE SCHOLAR'S ROCK QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

the natural grey stone with areas of translucent greenish-yellow selectively picked out and reticulated in high relief, portraying a seated scholar carrying a flywhisk and inclining his head to the tranquil landscape, the boulder centred by a blossoming tree deftly undercut to various depths with two cranes perched on rocky alcoves below, wood stand

Natural soapstone boulders such as this scholar's rock are rare. For another rare example, see The Minor Arts of China IV, Spink & Son Ltd., London, 1989, cat. no. 181.