BCI China 2010

This first photo is what the Chinese called "Rain Stones," they are exhibited in bowls or teacups of water.

The stones above are about the size of chicken eggs.

This stone is from a business that hosted us in Beijing. The stone were very nice and expensive. There were stones on display priced at over $1 million USD.

This stone was from the private collection that hosted us in Tienjin, the stone is larger than life size and the stand is a lounge on which the stone in the shape of a woman reclines.

Hi Billy,

It was a good memory of our trip in China. The stones were really great.

Budi

Part of the reward of this tour was meeting some internationally known masters/authors such as Budi, Peter Chan of the UK and Ernie Kou of Los Angles, USA.

Hi Billie. Hi Budi. ... You are great contributors to bonsai & stone appreciation & very generous contributors to IBC. I hope we'll hear more of your trip on the IBC Stone & Bonsai Forums. The Rain Flower ("Yunhua") Stones are exceptional!!!

Chris Cochrane wrote:Hi Billie. Hi Budi. ... You are great contributors to bonsai & stone appreciation & very generous contributors to IBC. I hope we'll hear more of your trip on the IBC Stone & Bonsai Forums. The Rain Flower ("Yunhua") Stones are exceptional!!!

That's BILLY please. I am afraid I only have the one photo of the Rain Flower stones, but they did give us a group of small stones. I didn't wet any of them in China and they are being shipped by boat so I will not have them for a few months. I will try to post them later if they are worth it.

Billy

Sorry for the misspelling, Billy. I know you over years as "Billy on the Space Coast" and should not have missed the spelling.

I will post a few more stones.



The stone above was outside our hotel room near Tianjin.

The stones below were from the Xingwei Stone Culture Art Center in Beijing

My wife, Carla, got a few better shots of the Rain Flower Stones. The first is a group of smaller stones, the second is a really nice egg sizes stone and finally is a stone on a diaza.

Hi Billy,
Re: the Reclining Woman Stone. Did you get any history of this stone? My wife commented that "...it took lots of hand rubbing to get that finish...." I wonder how much the ensemble weighs? Thanks for sharing your stone pics!
Best, Todd

Hi Billy,
The Rain Flower stones are pretty. But I am amazed at the cost. $2,100 for that particular stone seems excessive. What are the criteria for these stones? Some of the other stones look like Jaspers which have been polished. Are these natural stones? Thanks, Todd

Todd Ellis wrote: Hi Billy,
Re: the Reclining Woman Stone. Did you get any history of this stone? My wife commented that "...it took lots of hand rubbing to get that finish...." I wonder how much the ensemble weighs? Thanks for sharing your stone pics!
Best, Todd

There might have been more of a history on the sign, in Chinese, but I didn't get anything.
As to weight, the owner is an "industrialist" and other stones were moved during our visit by a crane. He has access to equipment that most of us can only dream of.
I don't know about the "hand rubbing."

Todd Ellis wrote:Hi Billy,
The Rain Flower stones are pretty. But I am amazed at the cost. $2,100 for that particular stone seems excessive. What are the criteria for these stones? Some of the other stones look like Jaspers which have been polished. Are these natural stones? Thanks, Todd

As to price, almost all prices are negotiable in China. My wife thinks they some of them have been tumbled. I think one of the books I mailed home has more to say, but the books are literally on a "Slow Boat From China." My caption may have been misleading, there were stones priced at $2100 USD, but the one in the photo might not have been that expensive.