Early Ming Landscape Stone Disc (Insert Panel) China, Early Ming Dynasty (14th–15th century)

Carved and polished grey limestone (or marble) with natural dendritic veining Disc Ø 54 cm; Overall H 80 × Base W 35 × D 20 cm A circular stone disc where nature painted its own landscape—dark grey veins branch against pale stone like an ancient pine in mist, or mountains rendered in scholar's ink.

The surface is polished to a subtle sheen, unadorned, embodying the Daoist principle at the heart of gongshi (scholar's rocks): voids and solids in perfect balance.

Originally inset into a rosewood folding screen (pingfeng) or the back splat of an official's armchair, the stone's organic patterns invited contemplation—a landscape to enter without leaving one's seat. Now mounted on a custom black wood base, the disc stands as sculpture rather than ornament.

PROVENANCE & CONTEXT

Early Ming literati furniture incorporated natural stone panels precisely for these dendritic patterns, which scholars read as portable mountains or forests. Comparable examples appear in Palace Museum chairs (acc. no. 故-家-00128) and documented in Wang Shixiang's Classic Chinese Furniture.

The circular format and grey-on-grey palette mark this as Jiangnan workshop origin, likely Suzhou or Hangzhou, where screen-making reached its apex during the Yongle and Xuande reigns.