Manual Ref* NFklHH008 Show 8 images 911
Title*

Artificial stone 85, Scholar's Rock
County Norfolk   District Council King's Lynn 
Civil Parish or equivalent Houghton  Town/Village* Houghton Hall 
Road Off A148 Lynn Fakenham Road 
Precise Location In planting to the south of the vista to ha ha on West front 
OS Grid Ref TF789285  Postcode PE31 
Previous location(s)  
Setting In Park  Access Private 
Artist/Maker Role Qualifier
Zhan Wang  Sculptor(s)   

Commissioned by

 Lord Cholmondeley 

Design & Constrn period

 2005 

Date of installing

 2009 

Exact date of unveiling

  

Category
Abstract Animal Architectural
Commercial Commemorative Composite
Free Functional Funerary
Heraldic Military Natural
Non-Commemorative Performance Portable
Religious Roadside, Wayside Sculptural
Temporary, Mobile Other  

Object Type
Building Clock Tower Architectural
Coat of Arms Cross Fountain
Landscape Marker Medallion
Mural Panel Readymade
Relief Shaft Sculpture
Statue Street Furniture War Memorial
Other Object Sub Type: Sculpture of artificial rock

Subject Type
Allegorical Mythological Pictorial
Figurative Non-figurative Portrait
Still-life Symbolic Other

Subject Sub Type
Bust Equestrian Full-length
Group Head Reclining
Seated Standing Torso
Part Material Dimension
Artificial stone 85  Stainless steel  Approx 4 High 
Base  Stainless steel  80 cms hign 4 metres long 

Work is
Extant Not Sited Lost

Owner/Custodian

 Houghton Hall Estate 

Listing status
Grade I Grade II* Grade II Don't Know Not Listed

Surface Condition
Corrosion, Deterioration Accretions
Bird Guano Abrasions, cracks, splits
Biological growth Spalling, crumbling
Metallic staining Previous treatments
Other  
Detail:

Structural Condition
Armature exposed Broken or missing parts
Replaced parts Loose elements
Cracks, splits, breaks, holes Spalling, crumbling
Water collection Other
Detail:

Vandalism
Graffiti Structural damage Surface Damage
Detail:

Overall condition
Good Fair Poor

Risk
No Known Risk At Risk Immediate
Signatures/Marks Zhan Wang 2005; 85#; 3/4 
Inscriptions  

Description (physical)

 The artificial stone is strikingly irregular. When approached from the diagonal mown path from the house it appears broken with a huge, mask like projection to the south. From the other side it appears to be one unbroken surface with a variety of textures. From all sides there are intense sky reflections over the whole surface. It is also represents a virtuoso balance, with the top heavy vertical stone tapering to a relatively small base bottom resting on the horizontal plinth. 

Description (iconographical)

 Collecting rocks Wang painstakingly pounds, bends, heats, and molds sections of stainless steel plate across the cloud-like topography of each rock, as if wrapping it in steel–in essence, applying a modern industrial skin to an ancient geologic body. After the steel has been shaped around the rock it is peeled away in sections, welded together as a single unit–a now-hollow duplicate of the rock–and polished to a flawless steel sheen, in some cases almost a mirror finish. The finish, scale and lack of any reference to the human form distinguish Wang's rock sculptures from Henry Moore's two and three piece sculptures, with their references to rock formations. The sculpture is numbered 85 of Zhan Wang's series of of artificial stones, a series which he also refers to as Scholar's Rocks, a reference to their significance in traditional Chinese culture. 

Photographs

 Date taken:  7/7/2009
Date logged: 

Photographed by:
Sarah Cocke

On Site Inspection

 Date:  7/7/2009

Inspected by:
Richard Cocke

Sources and References

 www.asianart.org/zhanwang.htm accessed 08/07/2009 (no longer available); wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhan_Wang#Scholar_Rocks accessed 07/09/2013 

Database

 Date entered:  23/7/2009

Data inputter:
Richard Cocke