Blue and White Chinoiserie Porcelain Ink Box a beautiful antique trinket box to hold all your treasure or decorative storage for mundane objects. Perfect for your desk or vanity.
This petite blue and white porcelain box once contained the ink used by a Qing-dynasty scholar or official to mark his works with a personalized seal. A mixture of ground mugwort, oil, and vermillion, seal ink was among the four treasures of the scholar's studio and thus warranted its own cherished accessories. This ink box is painted with an abstract bat, a symbol of happiness and prosperity, surrounded by dense scrollwork and a simple meander frame.
A featured item from our Kennebunkport Collection. One-of-a-kind unique items sourced from the Kennebunk’s in southern Coastal Maine. Bring an authentic piece of nautical or coastal history into your home.
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DIMENSIONS: Width: 4.5" (in) Depth:3" (in) Height:2" (in)
ORIGIN: China
CIRCA: 19th Century
FACTS & HISTORY: In China Calligraphy is a fine art which surpasses painting, sculpture, ceramics, poetry. Its importance deeply rooted in Chinese history and culture. In its distinctive Chinese form, calligraphy offers an important channel for the appreciation of traditional culture and for arts education. It is also a source of pride and pleasure for the Chinese people and embodies important aspects of the country's intellectual and artistic heritage.
Historically Scholar-officials were the elite class of imperial China. They were highly educated, especially in literature and the arts, including Calligraphy and Confucian texts. For a millennia they dominated the government administration and local life of China.
The Four Treasures of the Scholar
Known as the four jewels of the study are Brush, Ink, Paper, Inkstone. The individual treasures have a "treasured" form, each being produced in certain areas of China as a specialty for those scholars who would use them. Classical scholars had more than just the Four treasures in their studies. The other "Treasures" include the brush-holder (笔架), brush-hanger (笔挂), paperweights (镇纸), the brush-rinsing pot (笔洗), and the seal (圖章) and seal-ink (印泥).
