Imperially Commissioned Set of Ink Sticks with Images and Poems of Famous West Lake Sites
Unknown Artist
1780–94
Medium
Molded ink in yellow, blue, black, green, red, brown, white, and gold
Dimensions
w. 4.8 cm, l. 9.6 cm · average: 3.9 × 8.3 cm
Classification
Miscellaneous
Department
Chinese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Henry W. Kent
Accession Number
1942.215
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
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’s fifth southern inspection tour in 1780. Notably, the ink sticks’ colors and shapes correspond with the poems’ 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...