by Richard Turner

In China viewing stones are sometimes referred to as “the bones of the earth.” For this display we have chosen an especially skeletal piece of Chinese limestone and paired it with a moose antler. In terms of their respective cultural contexts, the two objects could hardly be more different from each other. The limestone has been carved to resemble a fabled Tai Hu stone, one of the most sought after and venerated stones in the Chinese collector’s hierarchy. The moose antler is a relic of the Old West. It is part and parcel of the American myth of the frontier. Both objects are, in their own ways, artifacts of bygone eras. Lake Tai, the original source of Tai Hu stones has been mined out long ago. The Old West exists only in films and on television. Death is the great leveler. In their twilight of their lives, the stone and the antler have found a comfortable companionship. The colors of the creamy limestone and the sun-bleached moose antler complement each other and the antler provides a cradle for the stone. Though on vastly different timelines, both objects are in states of disintegration. The days when the limestone was forming in a damp cave and the antler was a nub on the head of moose calf are long gone but an austere elegance remains. Each stage of life has its own beauty. This arrangement was made by Richard Turner, Thomas Elias and Paul Harris.