The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

Brown-black base of an inkstone, used to grind solid ink cakes, with a central circle from which extends a "X" shape, a Chinese character in each quadrant (see "Inscription"). The characters are created from even, rounded lines and curve with the circle of the inkstone. The edge slants down to a second layer, a circular rim of the inkstone.

Inkstone in the Shape of a Roof Tile with Seal Script Characters

1700s–1800s

Workshop of Jian Guzhai

China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
She stone
Diameter: 14.9 cm (5 7/8 in.)
Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund 2023.50
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The four large seal script characters on the base of this inkstone, 七葉永祥, may be read as "eternal good fortune for seven generations."

Description

This inkstone is particularly noteworthy for its inscriptions in two styles. The base shows four characters in seal script (zhuanshu) expressing auspicious, or favorable wishes, while the characters on the side in standard script (kaishu) record the name of the workshop and that of the collector’s studio.
Inkstones were used to grind solid ink cakes with the addition of water to produce liquid ink for brush painting and calligraphy.
  • ?–2006
    Private collection, Japan
    2006–January 2007
    (Brian Harkins Oriental Art, London, England)
    2007–?
    Hugh Moss, Shuisongshi Shanfang 水松石山房 [Water, Pine and Stone Retreat] Collection, London, England
    by 2020–2023
    James J. Lally, New York, NY, consigned to Christie's, New York
    March 23, 2023
    (Christie's, New York, March 23, 2023 sale, lot no. 923, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2023–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art
  • J.J. Lally & Co, and Richard John Lynn. Elegantly made: art for the Chinese literati [雅製 : 中國文人藝術 = Ya zhi: Zhongguo wen ren yi shu]. New York: J.J. Lally & Co., 2020. no. 25
    "Permanent Collection Installations.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 65, no. 3 (2024): 16–17. Reproduced: p. 17; Mentioned: p. 16 archive.org
  • The Dancing Brush: Ming Dynasty Calligraphers and Eccentrics. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 8, 2024-March 2, 2025).
    Elegantly Made: Art for the Chinese Literati. J. J. Lally & Co., New York, NY (March 13–27, 2020).
  • {{cite web|title=Inkstone in the Shape of a Roof Tile with Seal Script Characters|url=false|author=Workshop of Jian Guzhai|year=1700s–1800s|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2023.50