Ink Cake with Architectural Design (1736–95): Art, History and Details

Ink Cake with Architectural Design (1736–95) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

In China, access to political power was granted to those who passed the civil service examinations, a system that offered official service only at a high level of education. Chinese literati-officials, whose daily routine involved administrative work in an office, enjoyed precious objects on their writing desks that offered distraction and demonstrated good taste. By the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties, these utensils of the literati studio also became collectibles and were treasured as artworks.

Object facts

• Title: Ink Cake with Architectural Design
• Date: 1736–95
• Culture: China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Qianlong inscription, mark, and reign (1736-95)
• Type: Miscellaneous
• Technique: molded ink
• Dimensions: Overall: 2.4 x 13.4 cm (15/16 x 5 1/4 in.)
• Collection: China - Qing Dynasty
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 1942.212

A detail from the museum

To make liquid ink, an ink cake is ground against an inkstone with a small quantity of water.

Collection credit

Gift of Henry W. Kent

Further reading listed by the museum

• Hollis, Howard. “A Gift of Chinese Inks.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 33, no. 1, 1946, pp. 3–11.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.