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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 & 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 & 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"
}