Beehive-shaped water pot carved with clouds

A scholar’s writing desk was equipped with several specialized tools for everything from preparing ink to sealing the completed document. This vessel contained the water that a scholar combined with a solid ink block to create liquid ink. It belongs to a large group of imperial Kangxi porcelains made for the scholar’s writing desk, including water pots, brush washers, seal-paste boxes, and small vases. The sides are carved in relief with two similar arrangements of cloud bands; long ribbons extending above and to the left are interspersed with smaller clouds.