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Source Description
This is one of ten ink cakes of different shapes and colors stored in an exquisite lacquer box. Each is inscribed in gold with a poem by the Qianlong emperor, praising the ten famous sights of the Westlake in Hangzhou, near Shanghai. The Westlake is famous for its natural beauty; it was a favorite imperial destination and remains a tourist attraction today.<br><br>Ink cakes (also called ink sticks) are dissolved with the addition of water and ground on the surface of a flat stone into liquid ink for painting and calligraphy. The precious ink cakes here, however, have never been used.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
121906
label
Ink Stick from an Imperially Commissioned Set of Ink Stick with Images and Poems of Famous West Lake Sites
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
121906
contentType
object
title
Ink Stick from an Imperially Commissioned Set of Ink Stick with Images and Poems of Famous West Lake Sites
description
This is one of ten ink cakes of different shapes and colors stored in an exquisite lacquer box. Each is inscribed in gold with a poem by the Qianlong emperor, praising the ten famous sights of the Westlake in Hangzhou, near Shanghai. The Westlake is famous for its natural beauty; it was a favorite imperial destination and remains a tourist attraction today.<br><br>Ink cakes (also called ink sticks) are dissolved with the addition of water and ground on the surface of a flat stone into liquid ink for painting and calligraphy. The precious ink cakes here, however, have never been used.
date
1780–94
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60747073
genreSpecific
Miscellaneous
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 3.9 x 3.9 cm (1 9/16 x 1 9/16 in.)
cul
China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong reign (1736–95)
accession
1942.215.10
Source extras
tec
Molded ink in black
tombstone
Ink Stick from an Imperially Commissioned Set of Ink Stick with Images and Poems of Famous West Lake Sites, 1780–94. China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong reign (1736–95). Molded ink in black; overall: 3.9 x 3.9 cm (1 9/16 x 1 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Henry W. Kent, 1942.215.10
collection
China - Qing Dynasty
inscriptions
inscription
御製南屏晚鍾庚子。
幾暇搜冥對硯屏，
霜鐘送響一聲聲，
鬢霜已改十年貌，
醒耳清音卒未更。
inscription_remark
"The evening bell ringing at Nanping."
Made for the Royal family, dated gengzi year, 1780.
This poem expresses the author's perspective on time. Ten years later, people's hair has turned white, and their appearance has also changed. Only the evening bell on the Nanping Hill echoed day by day. The picture carved on the other side of the inkcake is the temple, Jingci Si 净慈寺, at Nanping Hill in Hangzhou.
inscription
乾隆年製
inscription_translation
Qianlong nian zhi (Made in the reign of Qianlong)
formerAccessionNumbers
1942.224
didYouKnow
The design is Jingci Temple, a Buddhist temple beside West Lake in Hangzhou, China.
citations
citation
The poems on the ink sticks are published in <em>Yuzhi shiji </em>御製詩集 [Collection of imperial poetry], vol. 4, juan 71, 6b–8b; and <em>Qinding nanzun shengdian</em> 欽定南巡盛典 [Grand ritual of the southern tour], juan 17, 17b–28b.
citation
Wang Chi-chien. "Notes on Chinese Ink." <em>Metropolitan Museum Studies</em>, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Dec. 1930), pp. 114–133.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 127, fig. 14
citation
Hollis, Howard. "A Gift of Chinese Inks." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> Vol. 33, No. 1 (Jan., 1946), pp. 3–5, 11.
page_number
Mentioned: pp. 3–5, 11
citation
von Spee, Clarissa. “The Power of Writing: A new display in the Chinese galleries focuses on inscriptions.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine </em>58, no. 5 (September/October 2018): 12–13.
page_number
Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 13
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: pp. 374–375, no. 206
creditline
Gift of Henry W. Kent
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:16:46.037000
sourceId
121906
dept
Chinese Art
coll
China - Qing Dynasty
med
Molded ink in black
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
be5136e3528decef