清晚期　十二生肖墨|Ink cake with cyclical imagery

Unknown

late 19th–early 20th century · Ink with gold · Asian Art

Chinese ink is made by mixing animal glue with carbon collected from burning resinous wood or vegetable oil. It is molded into various shapes, including rectangular tablets and round cakes, then ground on an inkstone with water to produce liquid ink. Some ink cakes are further embellished with molded designs. This disk has been decorated with the twelve zodiac animals and a Western-style clock face on one side and a poem in elegant calligraphy on the other.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 19th–early 20th century

Medium

Ink with gold

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, in honor of Douglas Dillon, 2001