Page 37 - BSAM 2015 Q1

Not ...black, smooth and shiny
MOJAVE
USA
Mexico
The collection and appreciation of unusual natural stones is ancient, dating back over 1,000 years in China and later in other Asian countries. Many of the earlier stones that were valued, such as Lingbi, Ying, and
Taihu, were varying forms of ancient marine lime- stone or metamorphic rocks from carbonate based materials. These were found in exposed or shallow land-based deposits, mountain ranges, while others came for lakes or ancient lake beds. These are well documented in many of the Imperial Chinese dynas- ties. Many other stones were taken from rivers, stream and the beds than line waterways. It is only in recent times that stones originating from desert regions were being collected and used as viewing stones. This ar- ticle will illustrate and compare desert stones from the huge Gobi Desert in northern China with the Mojave Desert of the American Southwest. Most of the Amer- ican stones are from the personal collection of Hanne Povlsen, except for two stones from the collection of Ann Horton. The Gobi stones are from the collection of Tom Elias and Hiromi Nakaoji.
Gobi Desert stones are unlike most rocks collected and admired during Imperial China—the Lingbi, Taihu, Ying, Kunshan and others—except Yellow Wax stones. The Lingbi, Ying, and other stones were mainly ones composed of softer carbonate materials that were shaped mostly by water. They tend to be varying shades of gray and black along with the white mineral formations of the Kun stones. In contrast,
Grape agates are rare and in great demand within China, especially multicolored specimens. This stone with numerous, small, grape- like clusters is 15 cm wide, 24 cm high, and 11.5 cm deep (5.9 x 9.4 x 4.5 inches) including the hand carved base. The base stone underneath the grape-
like clusters has a distinct lavender color.
Bottom; Small stones are abundant in the Gobi Desert. This small, turtle, figure stone is 5.5 cm wide, 2.8 cm high and 3.5 cm deep (2.2 x 1.1 x 1.4 inches) and is composed of quartz and chalcedony.
January/February/March 2015 | BCI | 37