A tall, thin dark gray stone has many small horizontal ridges that seem to spiral (R) next to the exhibition title (L)

China, Ying Stone in the Form of Spiraling Incense Smoke, Modern period, 20th century, Limestone from Yingde county, Guangdong province, 20th-century wooden stand, Southern openwork style, Gift of Alan Helms 2024.15.7a-b

 

 

The shape of 石 shi, the Chinese character meaning "stone" or "rock," mimics a small stone falling from a high cliff. The word “shi” can be associated with three categories of material: rocks, minerals, and fossils. For at least one thousand years, people have collected and studied shi. Building on this tradition, Shi: Stories in Stone offers cross-disciplinary perspectives on nature, science, art, and culture. The Davis Museum's encyclopedic stone collection was a generous gift from Alan Helms, Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Massachusetts Boston and the University of Paris. 

 
Shi: Stories in Stone was curated by Yuhua Ding, Kemper Assistant Curator of Collections and Academic Affairs, with contributions from Katrin Monecke, Associate Professor of Geosciences, David Teng-Olsen, Professor of Art, Eliza Yiru Mei ‘27, and Idie Park ‘26. Senior Manager of Exhibitions and Collections Preparation Mark Beeman, Assistant Preparator Nell Gould, Associate Registrar for Exhibitions and Digital Resources Helen Connor, and Friends of Art Curatorial Project Manager and Researcher Alicia Bruce each made invaluable contributions to the project. Michelle C. Lee, Andrew W. Mellon Assistant Professor of French and Francophone Studies, and Gillian Yanzhuang Zhang, Adjunct Professor at Boston College, provided important perspectives in the development of the exhibition. Loans and other support from the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art and the Harvard Art Museums were vital for the exhibition’s success. Special thanks for the generous support from Kate and Gerald Chertavian, Henri Chen Kezhan, Mathieu O. Gaulin, Marilyn Hamburger, Mee-Seen Long ‘72, Kemin Hu, Praise Shadows Art Gallery, Sophie Sa ‘65, Yvonne L.C. Wong, Yu-Wen Wu, and Xutizhai Collection. This exhibition was funded in part with a donation from Morgan Stanley, with support from Eric Hamburger. Shi: Stories in Stone was realized with major funding from the Alice Gertrude Spink Art Fund, Sandra Cohen Bakalar ‘55 Fund, Davis Museum Endowed Fund for International Cultural Programming, and the Davis Museum Asian Studies Advancement Gift.