清 蘇武牧羊圖端硯|Inkstone with Su Wu

Unknown

18th–19th century · Duanxi slate · Asian Art

The back of this inkstone is adorned with a picture of Su Wu (d. 60 B.C.), an emissary of the Han dynasty who was detained by a nomadic ruler to tend goats in the frigid steppeland of southern Siberia. It is carved out of a fine-grained stone with natural markings that was quarried in Shaoxiang, Guangdong Province. Its low water permeability and low absorbency, as well as the inclusion of moderately hard grains within its fine structures, make it an excellent material for inkstones.

Artist

Unknown

Date

18th–19th century

Medium

Duanxi slate

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015