[A detail from the screen]
The natural patterns on marble resemble sky, mountain with main peaks, clouds, a river and some close-up shapes in the colour range of white, different shades of grey and traces of yellow. The base and frame is carved with the birthday theme: the character longevity (壽) in the middle topped with a bat (蝠, pronunciation of bat is the same as 福 - blessing/good fortune). On both sides are the lucky animals of qilin/kirin (麒麟) with mountains and bamboos around. The carving style is symmetrical relief and the base and sides are also carved with beautiful patterns.
Screens are used for households as a way to separate space, providing privacy, for admiration or just as a piece of decoration. This screen is different from those desk/table top kinds in its majestic size. Marble screen also has a beautiful term in English – dreamstone (美夢石), probably because of the blurry dreamy patterns with infinite possibilities.
