Suiseki or scholar’s stone for display in Sencha tea ceremony or with a bonsai or scroll, suggestive of a high mountain range washed by moonlight. Of Furuya type from Wakayama Prefecture. Showa 3 or 1928.

With a double tomobako or original storage box, inscribed on the exterior of the inner box lid: Tai Gettsu Rei or (titled) On a Mountain Peak Waiting for the Moon; and then dated: Showa Boshin, Haru     no Hi no Mine, Nihashi or Showa (era) Year of the Dog – Dragon (1928), on a Spring Day, Titled by Nihashi, and sealed twice. On the reverse of this lid is inscribed a long colophon, with three seals.

An exceptional Furuya scholar’s stone from the Furuya area in Wakayama Prefecture. The title suggests to the viewer a contemplative journey into high mountain peaks, to wait for the moon washing over great rocky crags. This imaginary journey would have been familiar to the scholarly class of Japan and China for centuries, something that ink painting as well as many other art objects were meant to inspire. The quality of the carved rosewood stand testifies to the high estimation of the collector Nihashi. Stands of this quality were rare, expensive and the work of very talented specialists. The double box also reflects the romance and wonderfully suggestive nature of the stone.

Note: as with any high quality suiseki, the base was not cut and retains the natural form in which it was collected.