Expert’s note: Ranked first among the four types of the famous Chinese scholar’s rocks, lingbi stones are mostly carved from calcite and other ancient types of limestone. They originate from Lingbi county in Anhui Province and are fine-grained and delicately textured, found lying deep in the red mud of the Qingshi mountains. Naturally shaped, they need almost no cutting or carving. Depleted after generations of mining, large high-quality Lingbi such as the present lot are now exceedingly rare. Their mineral composition is such that they produce a metallic, distinct sound when tapped. Hence, they are also called ‘resonant rocks’ (bayinshi). Combining masculine beauty with antique simplicity, Lingbi have been admired by connoisseurs for centuries. In the Northern Song dynasty, Emperor Huizong wrote about a Lingbi in his collection: “The mountain is high while the moon looks small, the water ebbs and the rock juts forth.”

China, 1644-1912. The exquisitely formed rock with dramatic cervices, sharp ridges, and jagged protrusions, evocative of mountain peaks, and pierced with perforations of various sizes. The resonant stone is of a distinct blackish-gray tone with brown patches, suffused by gray veins.

Provenance: From the collection of Paolo Bertuzzi. Paolo Bertuzzi (1943-2022) was a fashion stylist from Bologna, Italy. He was the son of Enrichetta Bertuzzi, founder of Hettabretz, a noted Italian fashion company with customers such as the Rothschild family, Audrey Hepburn, and Elizabeth Taylor. Paolo Bertuzzi later took over his mother’s business and designed exclusive pieces, some of which were exhibited in the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA. He was also an avid collector of antiques for more than 60 years. His collection includes both archaic and contemporary art, and he edited two important books about Asian art, Goa Made - An Archaeological Discovery, about a large-scale archaeological project carried out with the Italian and Indonesian governments, and Majapahit, Masterpieces from a Forgotten Kingdom.
Condition: Very good condition with old wear, minute nicks and losses, light scratches, expected signs of weathering and erosion, possibly minor old fills.

Weight: 49.5 kg
Dimensions: Width 67.5 cm

With a two-part wood stand dated to the late Qing to Republic period. (3)

Traditionally, scholars collected two types of rocks for their studies: vertical peaks and horizontal mountain ranges. The present piece has primarily horizontal mountain ranges with cavities resembling cave topography. Hence, one can appreciate its inner and outer form. In texture and color, the stone resembles black lacquer and is quite lustrous.

Connoisseurs of scholar's rocks throughout the ages have boiled down their criteria for evaluating stones into twelve terms: thin, wrinkled, porous, permeable, clear, ugly, obtuse, clumsy, teal, powerful, beautiful, deep. Stones that have half of these features are considered rare and superior.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 31 May 2017, lot 3153
Price: HKD 250,000 or approx. EUR 32,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A lingbi mountain-form scholar’s rock
Expert remark: Compare the closely related mountain form, with jagged peaks and perforations, and color. Note the size (46 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 11 June 2021, lot 3200
Price: HKD 375,000 or approx. EUR 45,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A lingbi scholar’s rock
Expert remark: Compare the closely related mountain form, with jagged peaks and perforations, and color. Note the size (31 cm).