Collection record · Everyday wonders
Box with Ink Cakes
The collection record classifies this work as lacquer. It is dated 1795–1820. Recorded culture or place: China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Jiaqing reign (1795-1820).
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A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Box with Ink Cakes
- Date
- 1795–1820
- Culture / origin
- China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Jiaqing reign (1795-1820)
- Materials and technique
- Lacquer and silk box; molded ink in red, yellow, blue, and green
- Dimensions
- 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.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1942.206
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
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.
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Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · Gift of Henry W. Kent · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
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