Inkstone with Fitted Box

One of the more unusual uses of lacquer during Ming and Qing was the production of inkstones. This circular stone has the right texture and porosity to make a good grinding utensil yet it is lighter and easier to carry than a stone or ceramic version. The circular cover of the fitted box is decorated with the filled-in and engraved-gold technique (tianqi). It displays ginkgo leaves, longan berries, cherries, and lychee on top with a more formal lotus scroll motif decorating its side register. All of these auspicious plants are outlined in gold and the general style can be seen as a revival of the Wanli period (1573-1619). The bottom of the base bears the mark of Lu Tong, a late eighteenth-early nineteenth-century lacquer artist.