Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Michael Sullivan: A Life of Art and Friendship

(from 11th Mar until 14th Sep 2014)

A commemorative exhibition in memory of Michael Sullivan, leading scholar of Chinese art.

Sullivan friends banner
A ‘yellow wax’ scholar’s rockfront

© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

  • A ‘yellow wax’ scholar’s rock (detail)
  • A ‘yellow wax’ scholar’s rock (oblique)
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A ‘yellow wax’ scholar’s rock

  • Description

    A scholar’s rock is usually a naturally formed stone. It can be of any colour and size. Such stones were used to adorn a scholar’s desk in his studio and represented mountains, while acting as indoor versions of the magnificent natural stones that were installed in gardens and palaces. In the Tang dynasty (AD 618–907), a set of four principal aesthetic qualities for the rocks were developed: thinness, openness, perforations, and wrinkling.

    Among the four major stone formations of scholar’s rocks in China, ‘yellow wax’ rocks come from the Lingnan region of China and are mainly composed of andesite with silica, therefore they are as hard as jade. The term ‘yellow wax’ may derive from their purity of colour and the glossy surface. Its golden caramel colour and natural perforated form rank this rock among the finest of this type.

    Inscriptions on the back of the rock suggest that it may once have belonged to the Chinese collector Xu Shizhang (1889-1954).

  • Details

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    Associated place
    Asia › China (find spot)
    Asia › China › Lingnan region (probable find spot)
    Asia › China › Jiangnan region (probable find spot)
    Date
    inscribed 1936
    Associated people
    Xu Shizhang (1889 - 1954) (said to have been owned by)
    Material and technique
    yellow andesite and silica, polished; wooden stand
    Dimensions
    rock 35 x 50 x 43 cm (height x width x depth)
    stand 16 x 48 x 26 cm (height x width x depth)
    Material index
    inorganic › stone › lava › andesite,
    inorganic › mineral › silica,
    inorganic › stone › silica,
    organic › vegetal › wood
    Technique index
    polished,
    carved,
    formed › carved
    Object type index
    miscellaneous equipment › ornament,
    miscellaneous equipment › stand
    No. of items
    2
    Credit line
    Presented, 2013.
    Accession no.
    EA2013.3

Past Exhibition

see (1)

Location

    • Ground floor | Room 11 | Chinese Paintings

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

Notice

Objects from past exhibitions may have now returned to our stores or a lender. Click into an individual object record to confirm whether or not an object is currently on display. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis, so please contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular Eastern Art object.

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