Famous Meat-shaped Stone goes on exhibit at Southern Branch of National Palace Museum

One of the most well known treasures in Taiwan''s National Palace Museum arrived at the Museum''s Southern branch today after the conclusion of an exhibition in San Francisco. Local students on field trips to the museum today were excited to see the masterpiece, which will be on display at the museum for one year.The Meat-shaped Stone was delivered under police escort to the National Palace Museum’s Southern Branch in Chiayi, where it is sure to be a big hit with visitors. Many who examined the piece of carved jasper close up agreed that its tender and juicy look can stoke the appetite just like looking at a real piece of pork. The Meat-shaped Stone was carved out of a piece of banded jasper, in which impurities accumulated during formation lent the mineral various layers of color. That, combined with carving and staining by a master craftsperson, created an uncanny resemblance to a piece of cooked pork belly.Weng Yu-wenNational Palace Museum Researcher The naturally occurring colored bands or stripes along its side, along with work by skilled Qing Dynasty craftsmen who created fine pores on the top and dyed it, makes it truly resemble a piece of Dongpo pork.The Jadeite Cabbage and an inscribed bronze cauldron known as the Duke Mao Tripod are, together with the Meat-shaped Stone, known as the three treasures of the National Palace Museum. The Meat-shaped Stone replaces the Jadeite Cabbage at the Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum, where it is expected to remain on display until October next year.