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

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.)
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.
  • ?–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
  • CMA 1990: "Powerful Forms and Potent Symbol: The Dragon in Asia," Bull., 77 (October 1990), cat. 21, p. 317, repr. p. 317 and back cover
    Barbara 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