The National Viewing Stone Collection in Washington, D.C. 

By Thomas S. Elias, August, 2020

An important and valuable collection of 136 viewing stones are in the National Viewing Stone Collection of the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. The Arboretum is a unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administered by the Agricultural Research Service.

The first stones came to the Arboretum in 1975 when the government of Japan presented the U.S. government a gift of fifty-three bonsai and six stones in celebration of the Bicentennial of the United States. Six prominent Japanese collectors each gave one of their stones to the Japanese government for official transfer to the U.S. These included: a Neo Valley chrysanthemum flower stone, a water pool stone, and four mountain-shaped stones. One of the mountain stones has the appearance of a stream running down a mountain slope. In 1976, President Gerald Ford received a Japanese chrysanthemum flower stone from Japanese government officials. More than a decade later, in 1998, President Bill Clinton received a Japanese tiger striped stone from the Japanese prime minister. These stones were transferred to the National Arboretum for safekeeping.   
Four Japanese stones presented to the United States by Japan in 1975 in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the U.S.

These bicentennial and presidential stones are indicative of the value Japanese society placed on these treasured objects. The lengthy history of collecting, viewing, and appreciating stones with high aesthetic appeal has long been a tradition in Japan and China. Since this practice is relatively new in North America, these gifts have helped to develop a greater awareness and elevate their status alongside their companion art forms—bonsai and penjing.

The National Viewing Stone Collection presently consists of seventy-seven stones from North America, thirty stones from China, twenty from Japan, six from Africa, two from Indonesia, and a single stone from Europe. These aesthetically pleasing natural objects along with their carved wood bases or ceramic or metal display trays were presented to the Arboretum as gifts from individuals worldwide, or by an effort of the National Bonsai Foundation (NBF).
Two Japanese chrysanthemum flower stones contributed by Ralph Johnson.

Between 2001 and 2014, twelve additional Japanese stones were donated by leading collectors in Japan and the United States. Mr. Oguchi Kenichi gave a waterfall-like stone and two mountain-shaped rocks in 2001. Four years later, Mr. Baba Riichi from Kyoto contributed two other mountain-shaped stones. The latest Japanese stone to enter the collection is a small Furuya stone donated by Mr. Morimae Seiji in 2014. Two American collectors, Mrs. Marion Gyllenswan and Mr. Ralph Johnson gifted the remaining Japanese stones. Johnson gave four outstanding chrysanthemum flower stones from the Neo Valley in Gifu prefecture in Japan.

The North American component of the national collection consisted of only three stones—two from California and one from Wyoming—until 1996 when an effort led by NBF resulted in the acquisition of forty-two new stones for the Arboretum. A Request for Stones form was sent to bonsai and stone hobbyists throughout North America in 1985. Fourteen regional chairs were appointed to encourage people to contribute stones. Responses to the request were sent to Mr. Larry Ragle, member of the NBF Board of Directors, in Laguna Beach, California, to select the stones to be donated. This effort coincided with the construction of the Mary Morse International Pavilion and the Special Exhibits Wing in the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum. Planning for this facility began in 1989 but not completed until 1995. With these added facilities, the museum had suitable space where the newly acquired North American and other stones could be exhibited.

Carving, polishing, and shaping are standard well-documented cultural practices in Asian literature throughout the last 900 years. Because of this, it should be expected that the national collection has examples of enhanced stones. Nineteen of the forty-two North American stones have been bottom cut to facilitate their display in a wood base or a tray. Three of the Japanese stones are enhanced with a single bottom cut or through polishing. There are also altered rocks found among the Chinese specimens in the national collection.

Many additional North American stones came to the bonsai museum from noted collectors. Mrs. Melba Tucker collected and donated several California desert stones, including her well-known “Geisha” stone. Additional stones were donated by Mrs. Tucker, or by her daughter, or by her estate. Other beautiful stones have been donated by Mr. Elmer Uchida, Mrs. Toy Sato, Mr. Harry Hirao, Mr. Ken McLeod, and Mr. Bob Carlson. While most of the museum’s viewing stones are displayed indoors, three of Harry Hirao’s gift stones are displayed outdoors in the bonsai museum’s upper courtyard.
Terraced landscape stone from Thomes Creek, California, donated by Bob Carlson.

In 1991, the first Chinese stones arrived as gifts in the form of large tray rock penjing. One of each came from the Nanjing Botanical Garden and the Shanghai Botanic Garden. Four additional tray landscape penjing arrangements came from the Shanghai Botanic Garden in 2006. Tray landscapes consist of multiple rocks cut on the bottom and arranged on a tray, often marble, to recreate natural settings in China. One or more of these rock penjing specimens can be seen in the museum’s Chinese Pavilion with the tree penjing specimens. Tray penjing arrangements are one of the oldest methods of displaying rocks in China.

Chinese Ying stone from the Richard Rosenblum collection



Thanks to the generosity of Chinese stone connoisseur Mrs. Kemin Hu, the museum received several high-quality Chinese Lingbi, Ying, Taihu, and Qixia stones. Mrs. Hu specializes primarily in traditional Chinese viewing stones and has advised the museum on matters relating to their Chinese stones. The Chinese collection was furthered enhanced when Mr. Ralph Johnson, noted viewing stone collector from Nevada, donated ten large Chinese Lingbi, Taihu, and Ying stones to the National Arboretum in 2005 and 2006. An extraordinary Chinese chrysanthemum flower stone 137 cm (54 inches) high given by Mr. Johnson is displayed in the International Pavilion in the bonsai museum. Much of the other Johnson donation is on loan and temporarily displayed at the National Agricultural Library in Beltsville, Maryland. The Johnson gift of stones was for the planned new Chinese Garden at the Arboretum. It now appears that this facility may not be constructed. If this happens, the stones can return to the Arboretum for display in the bonsai museum. In 2013, Anna Rosenblum donated a small Chinese Ying stone from the collection of her father, Richard Rosenblum.



The national collection contains only a few stones from other countries. There are six stones from Africa, two from Indonesia, and one from Italy. The two Indonesian stones donated by Ismail Saleh, a high ranking judge and leading stone collector in Indonesia, were the first from the Asian Pacific countries. The Italian stone, a magnificent landscape stone from the Ligurian Alps in northwestern Italy, was donated in 2001 by Mrs. Luciana Queirolo, president of the Italian Association of Stone Lovers. Mrs. Oueirolo named this stone “La Bella” (See Featured Stone of the Month).


The National Viewing Stone Collection in Washington, D.C. is an important and valuable collection in North America, not only for the beauty and attractiveness of the stones but also for its historical importance and provenance of these objects. The stones range in size from small handheld ones weighing a few ounces to large rocks weighing over 50 kg (110 pounds). Fortunately, the bonsai museum staff has maintained detailed accession records for all of their viewing stones, bonsai, and penjing.


Millions of visitors to the National Arboretum have viewed the stones since they have been displayed. Over the last two decades, Mrs. Kathleen Emerson Dell of the Arboretum staff stages annual museum-quality exhibitions of viewing stones in the Special Exhibits Wing and adjacent International Pavilion. The Potomac Viewing Stone Group, a private non-government organization devoted to collecting, displaying and appreciating stones, meets monthly at the Arboretum and organizes a major exhibition of viewing stones each year. These efforts have helped to inform and promote viewing stones nationally and internationally.


The successful partnership between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Bonsai Foundation has resulted in the largest and most comprehensive bonsai and penjing museum in the United States. Plans are underway further to expand this complex and the scope of the collections. If this partnership can continue, this vital center for bonsai, penjing, and viewing stones will thrive and continue to serve millions of visitors in person or through virtual Online learning.


For more information, see www.bonsai-nbf.org and www.usna.usda.gov



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