An elegant Taihu scholar rock balanced on a custom wood stand, in a mushroom cloud form and full of grottoes. The weather-smoothed surface is of grayish black color and interspersed with thin white veins and calcification in places. The surface is full of interlinked grottoes of various sizes and small geological folds and wrinkles, in a most artistic way created by mother nature. Stones from Taihu lake was among the four famous stones since ancient time in China. They have been collected and prized by Chinese scholars since Tang dynasty when using them in garden came in vogue. Later on, smaller pieces like this one were displayed in the scholar's private study serving as a mini form of nature for meditation. In China, they are also known as Gongshi "worshipped stone" and in the west, known also as Spirit Stone. With their exotic shape with and curious cavities and surface texture, these stones were highly appreciated as an inspiration to contain the nature in human's adobe.

Size: Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)Width: 7 in (17.78 cm)Depth: 4.5 in.