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Source Description
Ink cakes were dissolved with water to be used for writing and painting. This ink cake depicts the immortal Wang Ziqiao riding a crane and playing a <em>sheng</em> (wind instrument with reeds). Legend says that he was a prince who became a Daoist immortal. <br><br>The design was likely borrowed from an illustrated Ming dynasty book on Daoist immortals printed in Anhui, the<em> Liexian Quanzhuan</em>. Ink cakes using Fang Yulu’s name, a famous ink maker in Huizhou, Anhui province, may just as well be products of followers who aspired to profit from his fame. His greatest local rival was his former mentor Cheng Dayue (1541–after 1610).
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
121931
label
Ink Cake with Wang Ziqiao
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
121931
contentType
object
title
Ink Cake with Wang Ziqiao
description
Ink cakes were dissolved with water to be used for writing and painting. This ink cake depicts the immortal Wang Ziqiao riding a crane and playing a <em>sheng</em> (wind instrument with reeds). Legend says that he was a prince who became a Daoist immortal. <br><br>The design was likely borrowed from an illustrated Ming dynasty book on Daoist immortals printed in Anhui, the<em> Liexian Quanzhuan</em>. Ink cakes using Fang Yulu’s name, a famous ink maker in Huizhou, Anhui province, may just as well be products of followers who aspired to profit from his fame. His greatest local rival was his former mentor Cheng Dayue (1541–after 1610).
date
c. 1600s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80018219
creators
35665
genreSpecific
Miscellaneous
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Diameter: 5.4 cm (2 1/8 in.)
cul
China, Ming dynasty (1368-1644) - Qing dynasty (1644-1911)
accession
1942.233
Source extras
tec
Molded ink and gold pigment
tombstone
Ink Cake with Wang Ziqiao (王子喬墨), c. 1600s. Attributed to Fang Yulu (Chinese, active c. 1570–1619). Molded ink and gold pigment; diameter: 5.4 cm (2 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Henry W. Kent, 1942.233
titleInOriginalLanguage
王子喬墨
collection
China - Ming Dynasty
inscriptions
inscription
Mark on base: 于魯監製
inscription_translation
Made under Yulu’s supervision
sortorder
1
didYouKnow
The front, back, and sides of this ink cake are partially gilded.
citations
citation
Hollis, Howard. “A Gift of Chinese Inks.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 33, no. 1 (January 1946): 3–5, 11.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 3-5; Reproduced: p. 11
citation
Little, Stephen. <em>Realm of the Immortals: Daoism in the Arts of China: the Cleveland Museum of Art, February 10-April 10, 1988</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1988.
page_number
cat. no. 22
citation
Li, T. June, and Suzanne E. Wright. <em>Garden, Art and Commerce in Chinese Woodblock Prints</em>. San Marino, CA: Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, 2016.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 132–133, cat. no. 33
citation
Griswold, William, Xiaofei Tian, Richard Von Glahn, Feng Zhao, S. J. Vainker, Masaaki Itakura, Jiang Wu, et al. <em>China’s Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta</em>. Edited by Clarissa von Spee. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2023.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 339, no. 178
creditline
Gift of Henry W. Kent
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:16:55.855000
sourceId
121931
dept
Chinese Art
coll
China - Ming Dynasty
med
Molded ink and gold pigment
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
0d87921278d73917