Scholar’s Rock in the Form of a Fantastic Mountain

Scholar’s Rock in the Form of a Fantastic Mountain

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This unusually large piece of malachite, with dramatic silhouette and rugged surface, resembles a craggy mountain in miniature. Intended to adorn a scholar’s studio, the piece’s striking shape and vivid colors were viewed as embodiments of the dynamic transformational processes of nature.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Scholar’s Rock in the Form of a Fantastic MountainScholar’s Rock in the Form of a Fantastic MountainScholar’s Rock in the Form of a Fantastic MountainScholar’s Rock in the Form of a Fantastic MountainScholar’s Rock in the Form of a Fantastic Mountain

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.