Pyrenean Suiseki

Pyrenean Limestone with Manganese inclusions From a location discovered by the secretary/editor/webmaster - Kevin Bailey. This was recently acknowledged as a new site for Murphy's style suiseki. The stone was collected on a guided ascent in the Pyrenees. The climbing involved a glacier crossing and a traverse over the summit from the French side onto the drier Spanish side. The whole mountainside was strewn with weathered scree and many fantastic shapes were noted. This was one of the best shaped stones that were small enough to consider carrying back over the tops in my rucksack.

It is difficult to formally classify this complex stone. Chinese scholar, landscape, abstract and shore stone have all been contemplated. I now favour it more as an object stone. It may be difficult to appreciate from the photo, but there is a fairly strong representation of an alpinist carrying a large rucksack, soloing the final moves to the summit. (Look carefully at the upper yellowish Manganese inclusion.)

The stone holds a special place in my heart and collection. An article I wrote about it is here.

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