{
"data": {
"id": 121907,
"accession_number": "1942.215.2",
"share_license_status": "CC0",
"tombstone": "Ink Stick from an Imperially Commissioned Set of Ink Stick with Images and Poems of Famous West Lake Sites, 1780\u201394. China, Qing dynasty (1644\u20131911), Qianlong reign (1736\u201395). Molded ink in white; overall: 9.4 x 3.6 cm (3 11/16 x 1 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Henry W. Kent, 1942.215.2",
"current_location": null,
"title": "Ink Stick from an Imperially Commissioned Set of Ink Stick with Images and Poems of Famous West Lake Sites",
"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 white",
"support_materials": [],
"department": "Chinese Art",
"collection": "China - Qing Dynasty",
"type": "Miscellaneous",
"measurements": "Overall: 9.4 x 3.6 cm (3 11/16 x 1 7/16 in.)",
"dimensions": {
"overall": {
"height": 0.094,
"width": 0.036
}
},
"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": "on the side of the cake",
"sortorder": null
}
],
"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"
}
],
"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": [
"1942.216"
],
"did_you_know": null,
"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.
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.",
"external_resources": {
"wikidata": [
"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q60779480"
],
"internet_archive": [
"https://archive.org/details/clevelandart-1942.215.2-ink-cake",
"https://archive.org/details/clevelandart-1942.215.2-ink-stick-from-an-im"
]
},
"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/1942.215.2",
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"creditline": "Gift of Henry W. Kent",
"image_credit": null,
"sketchfab_id": null,
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"gallery_donor_text": null,
"athena_id": 121907,
"creators": [],
"legal_status": "accessioned",
"accession_date": "1942-04-27T00:00:00",
"sortable_date": 1780,
"date_added_to_oa": null,
"date_text": "1780\u201394",
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"cover_accession_number": "1942.215",
"is_nazi_era_provenance": false,
"impression": null,
"alternate_titles": [
"Ink Cake"
],
"is_highlight": false,
"updated_at": "2026-03-27 00:06:09.291000"
}
}