A MONUMENTAL 'YING' GARDEN ROCK SONG TO MING DYNASTY

powerfully wrought to stand vertically on a single point, the top of the contorted grey stone tilted to one side, the concave side with dramatic crevices and sharp ridges accentuating the deeply pitted surface of the rock, the patina of a grey colour with white streaks running across extensively, all issuing from a square base and supported on a tapering stand of square section

Rochers de lettrés: Itinéraires de l'Art en Chine, Musée des arts asiantiques Guimet, Paris, 2012, cat. no. 18.

The extraordinary size and presence of this exceptional ‘ying’ rock is exceptional. ‘Ying’ rocks such as the current example were already highly treasured by the Ming dynasty, when the scholar Wen Zhenheng (1585-1645) wrote; ‘Lingbi stones are the best; Yingde stones are next best. These two types of stones are very expensive, and it is quite difficult to buy them. Large stones are especially difficult to obtain. Those over a few feet tall are rare indeed’.

‘Ying’ rocks were appreciated for their special aesthetic and spiritual qualities through poetry and essays written in the Tang Dynasty.  By the Song Dynasty, rocks were depicted in monumental landscape paintings offering a microcosm of the universe.  Paintings of rocks such as the current example illustrate the intimate relationship between paintings and three-dimensional scuptures.  Ten Views of a Fantastic Rock,  by Wu Bin (act. 1583-1626) with calligraphy by Mi Wanzhong (1570 - after 1628), sold in our New York rooms, 6th December 1989, lot 39, shows a single scholar's rocks depicted from all angles with inscriptions discussing the measurements and appearance of the rock. For other ‘ying’ rocks of comparable quality sold at auction, see two Ming to Qing dynasty ‘ying’ rocks, the first from the Jiansongge collection, the second from the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat collection, sold in these rooms, 11th April 2008, lot 2723 and 8th April 2010, lot 1702 respectively; and a Qing dynasty ‘ying’ rock from the Richard Rosenblum collection, sold in these rooms, 7th April 2014, lot 3666. All are of much smaller size and lesser grandeur than the current exceptional example.