Title
Inkstone
Year/Period
Qing dynasty (1644-1911)
Region
China
Object Type
Material
Technique
Dimension
Object size: 23 x 16 x 8 cm
Accession No.
2005-00287
Collection of
Credit Line
From the Xiang Xue Zhuang Collection in memory of Dr Tan Tsze Chor
The craftsman retained this inkstone’s naturally rough surface, while an ink pool is carved in the centre. The covered box is most probably made from a type of tropical hardwood, which emulates rosewood. Characters are inscribed on the inkstone’s top right corner – the two legible characters read ‘Shitian,’ which is the sobriquet of the Ming schoar-painter, Shen Zhou (1427-1509). On its revrse side is an inscription, which ends with a carved seal of Wenshan. The ‘first year of Jingyan’ in the inscription refers to 1276, while ‘Wenshan’ is the sobriquet of Wen Tianxiang (1236-1283), who served as Prime Minister in the Southern Song court.
