The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Box with Ink Cakes

Box with Ink Cakes

1795–1820
(1644-1911), Jiaqing reign (1795-1820)
Case: 26.4 x 19.1 cm (10 3/8 x 7 1/2 in.); Lid: 26.5 x 19.2 cm (10 7/16 x 7 9/16 in.)
Location: not on view

Description

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. The yellow cake shaped like the Buddhist "Wheel of the Law" is inscribed on the reverse.
  • ?–1942
    Henry Watson Kent [1866–1948], given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1942–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Hollis, Howard. “A Gift of Chinese Inks.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 33, no. 1 (January 1946): 3–11. www.jstor.org
    Kathman, Barbara A. A Cleveland Bestiary. Cleveland, OH; Cleveland Museum of Art, 1981. Reproduced: p. 22; Mentioned: p. 22, p. 61
    Wilson, J. Keith. "Powerful Form and Potent Symbol: The Dragon in Asia." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 77, no. 8 (1990): 286-323. Reproduced: cat. no. 21, p. 317 www.jstor.org
  • Powerful Form and Potent Symbol: The Dragon in Asia. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 24-November 25, 1990).
    A Cleveland Bestiary. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 15-December 16, 1981).
    Chinese Paintings: Themes and Techniques. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 7-April 5, 1981).
  • {{cite web|title=Box with Ink Cakes|url=false|author=|year=1795–1820|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1942.206