The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 21, 2025

Ink Stick from an Imperially Commissioned Set of Ink Stick with Images and Poems of Famous West Lake Sites

1780–94

China, Qing dynasty

(1644–1911), Qianlong reign (1736–95)
Molded ink in brown
Overall: 10.2 x 3.1 cm (4 x 1 1/4 in.)
Gift of Henry W. Kent 1942.215.7
Location: Not on view

Description

This is one of ten ink cakes of different shapes and colors stored in an exquisite lacquer box. Each is inscribed in gold with a poem by the Qianlong emperor, praising the ten famous sights of the Westlake in Hangzhou, near Shanghai. The Westlake is famous for its natural beauty; it was a favorite imperial destination and remains a tourist attraction today.

Ink cakes (also called ink sticks) are dissolved with the addition of water and ground on the surface of a flat stone into liquid ink for painting and calligraphy. The precious ink cakes here, however, have never been used.
  • ?–1942
    Henry W. Kent [1866–1948], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1942–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • The poems on the ink sticks are published in Yuzhi shiji 御製詩集 [Collection of imperial poetry], vol. 4, juan 71, 6b–8b; and Qinding nanzun shengdian 欽定南巡盛典 [Grand ritual of the southern tour], juan 17, 17b–28b.
    Wang Chi-chien. "Notes on Chinese Ink." Metropolitan Museum Studies, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Dec. 1930), pp. 114–133. Reproduced: p. 127, fig. 14 www.jstor.org
    Hollis, Howard. "A Gift of Chinese Inks." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art Vol. 33, No. 1 (Jan., 1946), pp. 3–5, 11. Mentioned: pp. 3–5, 11 www.jstor.org
    von Spee, Clarissa. “The Power of Writing: A new display in the Chinese galleries focuses on inscriptions.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 58, no. 5 (September/October 2018): 12–13. Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 13 archive.org
    Griswold, William, Xiaofei Tian, Richard Von Glahn, Feng Zhao, S. J. Vainker, Masaaki Itakura, Jiang Wu, et al. China’s Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. Edited by Clarissa von Spee. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2023. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 374–375, no. 206
  • Power and Possession: Chinese Calligraphy and Inscribed Objects – Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (August 13, 2018-February 3, 2019).
  • {{cite web|title=Ink Stick from an Imperially Commissioned Set of Ink Stick with Images and Poems of Famous West Lake Sites|url=false|author=|year=1780–94|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1942.215.7