Hi I hope you don’t mind the intrusion, but I would greatly appreciate some advice.
I am a professor at MIT and i recently became acquainted with Suiseki.
I found a scholars’rock I absolutely love on EBay — the seller has a long history on the site with very very positive reviews. It was not too expensive — and it didn’t pretend to be an unworked stone. several holes are admitted to be polished by hand. Given the guarantees, of working with eBay, I decided to take the plunge.
This is a picture of the stone.
with the daiza included, the height is 47″ I have a niche in my LR that I believe will work for it in my house. my question is, should it go on a low table — shoku? about a foot high?…I can’t help but “feel” that it should stand about 5 & 1/2 to 6 feet, so that one looks into it at eye level.
But where might I get a shoki that could withstand that weight? I can’t seem to find anything on the web, unfortunately.
Hi Susan… That is a very beautiful _Taihu_ (“Lake Tai”) stone in the Chinese scholar’s rock tradition. Arguably, you could call its fitted stand a _shizuo_
(“wood seat” in Chinese) rather than a _daiza_ (“pedestal seat” in Japanese). Kemin Hu (Newton MA, USA) is the widely recognized & repeatedly published authority in America on Chinese scholar rocks (http://www.spirit-stones.com/kemin-hu/contact-kemin/) and their display. You might consider a plain, unobtrusive modern pedestal of sufficient height to view the stone at its mid-height from a seated (or, if preferable, from a standing) position. Chinese scholars appreciated the shadows thrown by such stones from sunlight through high entryways or windows. You might consider overhead lighting somewhat in front of the stone to emphasize both its crowning horizon line & potential shadows projected onto a plain back wall or screen.
many thanks. Yes, in fact, we have ordered a very simple plain stone plinth for display. we are appreciating the natural light for now and will think about a small light from front and above. that would be suitable but not easy to rig up with our room.
Sam & KJ's Suiseki Blog (水石) 
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Hi I hope you don’t mind the intrusion, but I would greatly appreciate some advice.
I am a professor at MIT and i recently became acquainted with Suiseki.
I found a scholars’rock I absolutely love on EBay — the seller has a long history on the site with very very positive reviews. It was not too expensive — and it didn’t pretend to be an unworked stone. several holes are admitted to be polished by hand. Given the guarantees, of working with eBay, I decided to take the plunge.
This is a picture of the stone.
with the daiza included, the height is 47″ I have a niche in my LR that I believe will work for it in my house. my question is, should it go on a low table — shoku? about a foot high?…I can’t help but “feel” that it should stand about 5 & 1/2 to 6 feet, so that one looks into it at eye level.
But where might I get a shoki that could withstand that weight? I can’t seem to find anything on the web, unfortunately.
many thanks.
Susan
Hi Susan… That is a very beautiful _Taihu_ (“Lake Tai”) stone in the Chinese scholar’s rock tradition. Arguably, you could call its fitted stand a _shizuo_
(“wood seat” in Chinese) rather than a _daiza_ (“pedestal seat” in Japanese). Kemin Hu (Newton MA, USA) is the widely recognized & repeatedly published authority in America on Chinese scholar rocks (http://www.spirit-stones.com/kemin-hu/contact-kemin/) and their display. You might consider a plain, unobtrusive modern pedestal of sufficient height to view the stone at its mid-height from a seated (or, if preferable, from a standing) position. Chinese scholars appreciated the shadows thrown by such stones from sunlight through high entryways or windows. You might consider overhead lighting somewhat in front of the stone to emphasize both its crowning horizon line & potential shadows projected onto a plain back wall or screen.
many thanks. Yes, in fact, we have ordered a very simple plain stone plinth for display. we are appreciating the natural light for now and will think about a small light from front and above. that would be suitable but not easy to rig up with our room.
thanks again!
Really like your blog for the information on pots. Any plans to sell pots or stands?