Recently, on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, a woman in Providence RI brought in a carved "rock" on a pedestal. The appraiser explained that the artifact was known as a Chinese scholar's stone or scholar's mountain, and was created sometime in the 18th century. These jade stones were made for Chinese scholars who were constantly cooped up in small study spaces. The scholar would place the stone on his desk to help envision himself in nature. The carvings in this particular stone depict a scholar attended by two figures, picnicking and heading towards a pagoda retreat. The other side of the stone features an ox, which stands for enlightenment, and pine trees, which represents long life. These stones were normally carved out of jade, but this one is made of malachite, especially rare. In fact, around $50,000 for this carving!!!
You could make an envisioning "scene" from natural objects, too. You can make or buy miniature people, animals, trees, etc, and build a scene in a shoebox or on papier-mache!
Picture is from the Antiques Roadshow website.
VISUALIZING TOOLS:
