Detail: Amy McNair
Professor, University of Kansas
April 17, 2025; 5:30–7PM
807 Schermerhorn Hall

Based on the belief that alchemists can turn cinnabar into gold, ‘turning stone to gold’ became a metaphor for making something valuable from the ordinary. Engraved seal-stones are stones that become gold – aesthetically, sentimentally, and commercially. A seal-stone called “As in a Dream” was ‘turned from stone to gold’ no less than three times. First, the Shanghai seal-carver Xu Sangeng (1826-1890) transformed a small block of stone into a valuable art object, engraved with his enchanting calligraphy. Next, his student Maruyama Shin’itsu (1838-1916) rediscovered and authenticated it. Finally, in 2017, the seal-stone was auctioned in China for a small fortune.