Pair of Large French Curved Cast Stone Benches with Exceptional Patina

This Chinese extraordinary natural marble stone painting of a mountain range in green and white colors is called a dream stone Shih-hua. It is a monumental masterwork of nature. Totally natural. Dimensions: Hardwood frame: 54 inches tall and 73 inches length Site: 46 inches tall and 65 inches length This thin marble stone painting is approximately 3/8 inch thick and is cut from a large slab of rough material revealing a unique, incredible pattern in soft green and white colors. This unique work of art was from historic Dali marble found in the Cangshan mountains of western China. These mysterious mountains, unique in the world, are known for yielding incredible and fantastic natural landscaped works of art created over tens of millions of years from mineral inclusions that affected the process of ancient organic material which transformed into limestone and finally resulted in marble- a metamorphic hard stone. This art form is centuries of years old since the Ming dynasty. Dream stones became favored art in the west particularly since the 19th century when French collectors named them Pierres de reve. History of Green Flower dream stone paintings: “Green Flower” dream stone paintings known in China as Shui Mo or Chinese painting stone, were cut from stone found on Shuang Yang mountain in Dali moutains Captivating compositions, they might remind us of a long string of rugged mountain caps from a distance. These dream stones are cut from a scarce regional stone yielding notoriously “fuzzy” detailed paintings. To find examples possessing clear, contrasting detail like this one is indeed a rare find. Fine stone paintings like this example are rare as access to and availability of resource material diminishes. After a thin coating of wax is carefully applied to its surface to protect and reveal its beautiful subtle colors, this stone painting is signed upper right position with poetic verse and seal of an artisan who describes its majestic beauty as Provenance: Private Chinese collection, Yunnan, China. Reference: Dreaming of Dreamstones China’s Extraordinary Natural Stone Paintings, Schneible Fine Arts. Dreaming of Dreamstones – World’s first comprehensive English text publication covers China’s extraordinary natural Stone Paintings, by author and dream stone lecturer Douglas Schneible...

The two children are musicians mounted on scrolled architectural supports with stippled surfaces, all in white paint. The children have pigtails and wear robes. One child is seated, ...

Cast stone garden basket from the mid-19th century overflowing with a bouquet of carved fruit and flowers. This basket has great depth in the details and a beautiful, aged patina. Pe...

Very lovely French composite stone basket planter with rope style handle.