Minneapolis Institute of Art

Ink Stone

Wen Yuyang

Date

1623 (Dated by inscription)

Medium

Duan stone

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

The stone slabs used by artists to prepare ink were highly valued. The quarries at Sheixian in Anhui province and at Duanzhou (present-day Zaoqing) in Guangdong yielded slate-like stone that had the right porosity, hardness, and grain to make good grinding utensils. Many Ming and Qing dynasty stones were embellished with carved decoration. This example has a cresting wave pattern on both the top and bottom surfaces. The bottom, shown here, includes a twenty-six-character inscription followed by the date 1623, and the signature and seal of Wen Yuyang. China, Asia

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