Ink cake

Original Language Title墨錠

CultureChinese

DateMing dynasty (1368 - 1644)

MediumInk and pigment

DimensionsOverall: 9/16 × 5 1/2 inches (1.43 × 13.97 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: the Nelson Gallery Foundation

Object number2016.7

SignedNone

InscribedThree moulded inscriptions: (Xianniao, "immortal water bird") on one face; 天啓元年 (Tianqi yuannian, "first year of Tianqi); and 大[?]氏造(Da [?] shi zao "made by Da [?]") on the side.

MarkingsNone

On View

Not on view

Collections

East Asian Art

Terms

DescriptionThe dark-grey ink cake is of disc form with a slightly raised rounded lip. One face is molded with a design of two birds against a background of clouds and waves, with remains of a beige surface pigment. The other face bears two characters (“immortal water bird”). On the side are molded four characters (“first year of Tianqi”).Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Emperors, Scholars and Temples: Tastemakers of China’s Ming and Qing Dynasties, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, August 12, 2016 – July 9, 2017.

Exhibition History

Asia Week, Hazlitt, New York, March 10th - 19th, 2016, no. 3.

Provenance

Nicholas Grindley;

Purchased from Nicholas Grindley by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2016.

Published References

Fan Yulu, Fang Shi Mopu (China: 1598).

Catalogue of Nicholas Grindley (New York: 2016).

Published References

Fan Yulu, Fang Shi Mopu (China: 1598) (repro.).

Catalogue of Nicholas Grindley (New York: 2016) (repro.).

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