Chinese Dendritic Limestone

These traditional Chinese picture stones are from a remote area in south west China.

Also known as painting stones, they are primarily limestone, containing calcium or grey silica. The Chinese picture stones are a rock formation from the Solitary Mountains of the Permian Era dating back 250 million years. The formation of these pictures is a result of the weathering process. The major factor is water-dissolved minerals seeping into and infiltrating the stones along their cracks and fissures. The combination of mineral element colours form these wonderful pictures. The lines and colours are varied, the hardness of the stone is 4-6.

The painting stones are a wonderful artwork of nature and need to be polished to reveal their surreal landscape patterns. The artisans in the villages present this amazing natural artwork with the intuition, after shaping and polishing each totally unique stone.