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This inkstone is particularly noteworthy for its inscriptions in two styles. The base shows four characters in seal script (<em>zhuanshu</em>) expressing auspicious, or favorable wishes, while the characters on the side in standard script (<em>kaishu</em>) record the name of the workshop and that of the collector’s studio.<br>Inkstones were used to grind solid ink cakes with the addition of water to produce liquid ink for brush painting and calligraphy.

Page data

Page
1
Source index
0
Type
photo
Media ID
5dc8aab94c58d95b
Size
unknown

Document data

ID
540412
Core
obj
Type
object
DTO data
{
    "id": "540412",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Inkstone in the Shape of a Roof Tile with Seal Script Characters",
    "description": "This inkstone is particularly noteworthy for its inscriptions in two styles. The base shows four characters in seal script (<em>zhuanshu</em>) expressing auspicious, or favorable wishes, while the characters on the side in standard script (<em>kaishu</em>) record the name of the workshop and that of the collector’s studio.<br>Inkstones were used to grind solid ink cakes with the addition of water to produce liquid ink for brush painting and calligraphy.",
    "date": "1700s–1800s",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/2023.50",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q121092826"
    ],
    "creators": [
        540415
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Stone"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2023.50/2023.50_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2023.50/2023.50_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2023.50/2023.50_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Diameter: 14.9 cm (5 7/8 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911)"
    ],
    "accession": "2023.5"
}

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Document identity
{
    "localId": "540412",
    "label": "Inkstone in the Shape of a Roof Tile with Seal Script Characters",
    "core": "obj",
    "dtoType": "object"
}
Document source metadata
{
    "id": "540412",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Inkstone in the Shape of a Roof Tile with Seal Script Characters",
    "description": "This inkstone is particularly noteworthy for its inscriptions in two styles. The base shows four characters in seal script (<em>zhuanshu</em>) expressing auspicious, or favorable wishes, while the characters on the side in standard script (<em>kaishu</em>) record the name of the workshop and that of the collector’s studio.<br>Inkstones were used to grind solid ink cakes with the addition of water to produce liquid ink for brush painting and calligraphy.",
    "date": "1700s–1800s",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/2023.50",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q121092826"
    ],
    "creators": [
        540415
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Stone"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2023.50/2023.50_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2023.50/2023.50_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2023.50/2023.50_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Diameter: 14.9 cm (5 7/8 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911)"
    ],
    "accession": "2023.5"
}
Document source extras
{
    "tec": "She stone",
    "tombstone": "Inkstone in the Shape of a Roof Tile with Seal Script Characters (歙石仿漢瓦當硯), 1700s–1800s. Workshop of Jian Guzhai. She stone; diameter: 14.9 cm (5 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund, 2023.50",
    "titleInOriginalLanguage": "歙石仿漢瓦當硯",
    "collection": "China - Qing Dynasty",
    "inscriptions": [
        {
            "inscription": "七葉永祥",
            "inscription_translation": "Four large seal script characters reading, qi ye yong xiang (\"eternal good fortune for seven generations\"), within fan-shaped cartouches encircling a central boss",
            "sortorder": 1
        },
        {
            "inscription": "「鑑古齋仿製」 \n「穎川春暉館文寶」",
            "inscription_translation": "The kaishu inscriptions on the sides may be read as jiangu zhai fangzhi (made in emulation [of a Han eaves-tile] at the Studio of Appreciation of Antiquity) and Yingchuan Chunhui guan wenbao (cultural treasure of Springtime Sun Hall in Yingchuan).",
            "sortorder": 2
        }
    ],
    "didYouKnow": "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.\"",
    "citations": [
        {
            "citation": "J.J. Lally &amp; Co, and Richard John Lynn. <em>Elegantly made: art for the Chinese literati</em> [<em>雅製 : 中國文人藝術 = Ya zhi: Zhongguo wen ren yi shu</em>]. New York: J.J. Lally &amp; Co., 2020.",
            "page_number": "no. 25"
        },
        {
            "citation": "\"Permanent Collection Installations.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine </em>65, no. 3 (2024): 16–17.",
            "page_number": "Reproduced: p. 17; Mentioned: p. 16",
            "url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAMM-2024-03"
        }
    ],
    "url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/2023.50",
    "creditline": "Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund",
    "updatedAt": "2026-05-29 09:10:53.859000",
    "imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2023.50/2023.50_print.jpg",
    "sourceId": 540412,
    "dept": "Chinese Art",
    "coll": "China - Qing Dynasty",
    "med": "She stone",
    "creatorTags": [
        "male"
    ],
    "thumbnail_url": null,
    "image_url": null
}
Page context
{
    "seq": 1,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2023.50/2023.50_web.jpg",
    "mediaId": "5dc8aab94c58d95b"
}