Page 56 - Chinese Decorative Arts: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 55, no. 1 (Summer, 1997)

modeling, and a single, consistent light source, Finally, a black stag is an allusion to the color
were employed. These pictures are an impor- of ink. The word xuan, here meaning "black,"
tant source of social and technical information is a common word in the names for ink cakes.
about crafts production. WAS Some of these properties of and allusions
to xuanjhu are highlighted in a poem molded
in regular script on the back of the cake:

Ink cake with xuanzhu Xuanlhu
Motif
.................................................................................... A jhu with an elegant black tail
of
Yulu
the
by
Manufactured shop of Fang It draws a following deer, none dares to
pass it.
(act. ca. 1570-1619)
Shiny like jade, dark like pine
dated 1573
Ming dynasty,
Naturally talented in interesting conversa-
L.43/8 in. (1.1 cm)
tion, you are a master of discussion.
Rogers Fund, 1929
is
30.76.198 The poem signed Jianyuan Fu, a sobri-
a
quet of Fang Yulu, and followed by square
A
he subjects depicted on Chinese ink cakes seal reading "Jianyuan." reign date of Wanli
often carry multiple layers of popular yuannian (inaugural year of the Wanli era),
to
InkMaking and literary allusions. The squarish cake here corresponding 1573, and Fang Yulu's signa-
................................................................................
is adorned with a xuan{hu, a spotted black stag ture, written in seal script, are molded on the
Anonymous with an extraordinary set of antlers. For the vertical sides.
Qing dynasty, early lith century the tails make The of the was created
practical-minded, stags' bushy design stag by Ding
Gouache on paper excellent dusters. It has been suggested that Yunpeng (i547-ca. I62I), whose sobriquet,
14 5/8 x 1 7/8 in. (37.1 x30.2 cm) their hair, when placed next to red silk, will Nanyu, appears in the entry for this motif
Florence and Herbert
Purchase, Irving Giff 1994 preserve the color of the dye and that dust- recorded in the FangshiMopu. On the ink cake
1994.409 ing felt with it will protect the material from the graceful deportment of the stag is rendered
insects. The shu-hair duster, when serving as in subtle relief. The mold carver's technique in
his drawing illustrates several stages in a scholar's accessory, is a symbol of lively producing clean outlines and strikingly sharp
the traditional method of ink making in intellectual and philosophical conversations. details is commendable. WAS
China. Lampblack binding glue are mixed
and a
thoroughly by pounding in a metal mortar
with a pestle-such as the set on the ground
on the left of the picture-to form a dense
paste. Sitting on a wooden bench, an ink maker
strikes a new ink stick from a set of wooden
molds. The inside of the mold was usually
carved with decorative designs and the names
of the ink and the shop or the master, all of
which are pressed onto the surface of the stick.
Here the viewer can see the outer mold hold-
ing the inner mold together while the latter is
struck. On the right a bamboo tray piled with
ink cakes and sticks rests on a bamboo stool. On
a table in the back the finished products are
boxed.
This sheet was originally one in a set of
gouache drawings depicting different profes-
sions in China. The theme is indicated in the
title, "Yinmo" (Molding Ink), written in reg-
ular script on the lower right corner, together
with the number forty-seven, probably the
picture's place in the series. This type of image
was produced for the European market during
the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,
and Western techniques, such as shading,
55