{
"data": {
"id": 121904,
"accession_number": "1942.215",
"share_license_status": "CC0",
"tombstone": "Imperially Commissioned Set of Ink Sticks with Images and Poems of Famous West Lake Sites (\u5fa1\u88fd\u897f\u6e56\u540d\u52dd\u5716\u8a69\u7843\u9320), 1780\u201394. China, Qing dynasty (1644\u20131911), Qianlong reign (1736\u201395). Molded ink in yellow, blue, black, green, red, brown, white, and gold; average: 3.9 x 8.3 cm (1 9/16 x 3 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Henry W. Kent, 1942.215",
"current_location": null,
"title": "Imperially Commissioned Set of Ink Sticks with Images and Poems of Famous West Lake Sites",
"title_in_original_language": "\u5fa1\u88fd\u897f\u6e56\u540d\u52dd\u5716\u8a69\u7843\u9320",
"creation_date": "1780\u201394",
"creation_date_earliest": 1780,
"creation_date_latest": 1794,
"artists_tags": [],
"culture": [
"China, Qing dynasty (1644\u20131911), Qianlong reign (1736\u201395)"
],
"technique": "Molded ink in yellow, blue, black, green, red, brown, white, and gold",
"support_materials": [],
"department": "Chinese Art",
"collection": "China - Qing Dynasty",
"type": "Miscellaneous",
"measurements": "Average: 3.9 x 8.3 cm (1 9/16 x 3 1/4 in.)",
"dimensions": {
"overall": {
"width": 0.048,
"width_inch": 1,
"width_inch_fraction": 0.875,
"length": 0.096,
"length_inch": 3,
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},
"part 10": {
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"width_inch": 1,
"width_inch_fraction": 0.4375,
"length": 0.106,
"length_inch": 4,
"length_inch_fraction": 0.1875
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"part 7": {
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"length": 0.102,
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"part 1": {
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"length": 0.074,
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"length": 0.094,
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"length_inch_fraction": 0.6875
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"length": 0.076,
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"length_inch_fraction": 0.0
},
"part 4": {
"width": 0.048,
"width_inch": 1,
"width_inch_fraction": 0.875,
"length": 0.064,
"length_inch": 2,
"length_inch_fraction": 0.5
},
"part 5": {
"width": 0.039,
"width_inch": 1,
"width_inch_fraction": 0.5625,
"length": 0.078,
"length_inch": 3,
"length_inch_fraction": 0.0625
},
"across top": {
"height": 0.039,
"height_inch": 1,
"height_inch_fraction": 0.5625,
"width": 0.039,
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},
"across ends": {
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"width_inch": 1,
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"length": 0.102,
"length_inch": 4,
"length_inch_fraction": 0.0
},
"average": {
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}
},
"state_of_the_work": null,
"edition_of_the_work": null,
"copyright": null,
"inscriptions": [
{
"inscription": "\u4e7e\u9686\u5e74\u88fd",
"inscription_translation": "Qianlong nian zhi (Made in the reign of Qianlong)",
"inscription_remark": "Inscription on the side of each ink cake.",
"sortorder": 1
},
{
"inscription": "The inscription in mother of pearl inlay on the box\u2019s cover says: Imperially Made Gold Inscribed Poems of Images of [the Ten] Sights of the Westlake.",
"inscription_translation": null,
"inscription_remark": null,
"sortorder": 2
},
{
"inscription": "The poems on the ink sticks are published in Yuzhi shiji \u5fa1\u88fd\u8a69\u96c6 [Collection of imperial poetry], vol. 4, juan 71, 6b\u20138b; and Qinding nanzun shengdian \u6b3d\u5b9a\u5357\u5de1\u76db\u5178 [Grand ritual of the southern tour], juan 17, 17b\u201328b.",
"inscription_translation": "",
"inscription_remark": null,
"sortorder": 3
}
],
"exhibitions": {
"current": [
{
"id": 517479,
"title": "History of The Chinese Book",
"description": "History of The Chinese Book. The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (organizer) (April 1-May 15, 1967).",
"opening_date": "1967-04-01T05:00:00"
},
{
"id": 312307,
"title": "Power and Possession: Chinese Calligraphy and Inscribed Objects \u2013 Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c",
"description": "Power and Possession: Chinese Calligraphy and Inscribed Objects \u2013 Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (August 13, 2018-February 3, 2019).",
"opening_date": "2018-08-13T04:00:00"
},
{
"id": 395234,
"title": "China\u2019s Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta",
"description": "China\u2019s Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10, 2023-January 7, 2024).",
"opening_date": "2023-09-10T04:00:00"
}
],
"legacy": []
},
"provenance": [
{
"description": "Henry W. Kent [1866\u20131948], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": null,
"date": "?\u20131942",
"sortorder": 1
},
{
"description": "The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": null,
"date": "1942\u2013",
"sortorder": 2
}
],
"find_spot": null,
"related_works": [],
"former_accession_numbers": [],
"did_you_know": "The inscription in mother-of-pearl inlay on the box\u2019s cover says: Imperially Made Gold Inscribed Poems of Images of [the Ten] Sights of the Westlake.",
"description": "Each ink stick depicts one of the Ten Scenes of the West Lake on one side, and a corresponding imperial poem on the other, composed on emperor Qianlong\u2019s fifth southern inspection tour in 1780. Notably, the ink sticks\u2019 colors and shapes correspond with the poems\u2019 respective content.
An inscription on one ink stick identifies this set as a gift to the emperor by Jiang Lan, an official from Anhui, a province known for its excellence in ink, paper making, and printing. Imperial records note that 10 more sets of West Lake inks were presented as a tribute by Gioroi Giking (Chinese: Jueluo Jiqing, 1753\u20131802), a Zhejiang provincial governor and a bannerman (Manchu native).",
"external_resources": {
"wikidata": [
"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q60750357"
],
"internet_archive": [
"https://archive.org/details/clevelandart-1942.215-set-of-ten-ink-cakes",
"https://archive.org/details/clevelandart-1942.215-imperially-commissio"
]
},
"citations": [
{
"citation": "The poems on the ink sticks are published in Yuzhi shiji \u5fa1\u88fd\u8a69\u96c6 [Collection of imperial poetry], vol. 4, juan 71, 6b\u20138b; and Qinding nanzun shengdian \u6b3d\u5b9a\u5357\u5de1\u76db\u5178 [Grand ritual of the southern tour], juan 17, 17b\u201328b.",
"page_number": "",
"url": ""
},
{
"citation": "Wang Chi-chien. \"Notes on Chinese Ink.\" Metropolitan Museum Studies, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Dec. 1930), pp. 114\u2013133.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: p. 127, fig. 14",
"url": "https://www.jstor.org/stable/1522772"
},
{
"citation": "Hollis, Howard. \"A Gift of Chinese Inks.\" The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art Vol. 33, No. 1 (Jan., 1946), pp. 3\u20135, 11.",
"page_number": "Mentioned: pp. 3\u20135, 11",
"url": "https://www.jstor.org/stable/25141247"
},
{
"citation": "von Spee, Clarissa. \u201cThe Power of Writing: A new display in the Chinese galleries focuses on inscriptions.\u201d Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 58, no. 5 (September/October 2018): 12\u201313.",
"page_number": "Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 13",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAMM2018-05/page/n5/mode/2up"
},
{
"citation": "Griswold, William, Xiaofei Tian, Richard Von Glahn, Feng Zhao, S. J. Vainker, Masaaki Itakura, Jiang Wu, et al. China\u2019s Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. Edited by Clarissa von Spee. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2023.",
"page_number": "Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 374\u2013375, no. 206",
"url": ""
}
],
"url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1942.215",
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"creditline": "Gift of Henry W. Kent",
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"athena_id": 121904,
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"accession_date": "1942-04-27T00:00:00",
"sortable_date": 1780,
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"alternate_titles": [
"Set of Ink Cakes",
"Set of Ten Ink Cakes with Poems of the Ten Scenes at the West Lake in Cursive Script Style (xingshu)"
],
"is_highlight": false,
"updated_at": "2026-05-29 06:16:45.406000"
}
}