Asian Art program in October, One World Project
Category: SFA Blog
China’s Extraordinary Natural Stone Paintings
Bristol…The One-World Library Project will host a free program, Created at the Dawn of Time and Coveted by China’s Ancient Emperors, on Thursday, October 28, at 7:00 p.m. at the Lawrence Memorial Library in Bristol. Longtime art and antiques collector, Doug Schneible will discuss the history, geology, creation, spiritual significance and value determination of China’s natural stone paintings. Schneible is the president of Schneible Fine Art, a Shelburne based gallery that specializes in Asian antiquities and contemporary art. According to Schneible, collectors have revered landscape stone paintings “Shi-hua” for centuries, particularly since the Ming dynasty when Dali marble became a favored asset. In the west, the French took particular fancy to these beautiful works of art naming them “pierres de reve”.
Schneible has traveled to the Dali Prefecture and the Cangshan Mountains in southwestern China’s Yunnan Province to the mines where these special stones are extracted, meeting with craftspeople whose families have worked on this unique art form for generations. After considerable external scrutiny, each selected marble slab that was hand cut from deep mountain cave mines, is carefully cut into thin slabs. Experienced craftspeople, members of China’s Bai Minority Group, have been practicing this art for over four generations. If a cutter is lucky, the slab’s inner bounds reveal a palette and pattern of uncompromising natural beauty. Thus, a unique work of art is born. Natural inclusions found suggest heavenly landscapes: misty mountains, lofty peaks and meandering riverbeds. Well observed patterns known in Chinese as “Caihu” (colored flowers), “Yunhui” (grey clouds) and “Baishi white jade) describe valued contents.
Today most Dali marble mines have been closed by the government because of environmental and other regulatory issues. Extraction and transportation is arduous and access is extremely limited to a handful of dedicated generations old Bai workers and “donkey” caravans. It may be a matter of a few short years before access to these mines is completely terminated.
The One-World Library Project is a “world library within a library” with a collection of books, films, and other media about world cultures. OWLP items are available for community members to check out at the Lawrence Memorial Library in Bristol. The One-World Library Project also hosts regular programs at the library on the various fascinating cultures that fill our planet. For more information about the One-World Library Project go to www.oneworldlibraryproject.org, check out our Facebook page at OneWorld, or call 453-4147.
The Lawrence Memorial Library, which hosts the One-World Library Project, is located at
40 North Street in Bristol and has a full listing of items in the One-World Library in their online catalog, www.lawrencelibrary.net.
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