The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of March 27, 2024
Box with Ink Cakes: Blue Ink Cake in Shape of a Gui Scepter
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.)
Gift of Henry W. Kent 1942.206.g
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 ink cake says that the set was commissioned by Chen Huai, Governor of Jiangxi Province.
- ?–1942Henry Watson Kent [1866–1948], given to the Cleveland Museum of Art1942–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
- CMA 1990: "Powerful Forms and Potent Symbol: The Dragon in Asia," Bull., 77 (October 1990), cat. 21, p. 317, repr. p. 317 and back coverBarbara A. Kathman, "A Cleveland Bestiary," CMA Department of Art History and Education, Oct. 14-Dec. 9, 1981, cat. 16
- {{cite web|title=Box with Ink Cakes: Blue Ink Cake in Shape of a Gui Scepter|url=false|author=|year=1795–1820|access-date=27 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1942.206.g