Box with Ink Cakes
Unknown Artist
1795–1820
Medium
Lacquer and silk box; molded ink in red, yellow, blue, and green
Dimensions
case: 26.4 × 19.1 cm · lid: 26.5 × 19.2 cm
Classification
Lacquer
Department
Chinese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Henry W. Kent
Accession Number
1942.206
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Ink cakes (also called ink sticks) are dissolved with the addition of water and then ground on the surface of a flat square stone into liquid ink for painting and calligraphy. The precious ink cakes here, however, have never been used. The inscription on the side of the blue Gui scepter-shaped ink cake says that the set was commissioned by Chen Huai, Governor of Jiangxi province. The green and bright red ink cakes take the forms of archaic dragons. The dull red ink cake resembles a brocade knot....