Lion Protector Inkstone

Scholarly pursuits such as painting, calligraphy, and poetry were a highly respected and revered subculture in ancient China, and demanded their own set of tools that were not only functional, but also beautiful. One of the "Four Treasures of the Study," inkstones such as this were used to mix dry ink with water for use in calligraphy painting.

This early 20th century inkstone is guarded by a mythical fu dog lion, known as a shizi, depicted reclining on his side with a curly mane and a sly grin. A shallow divot in the stone forms the water well once used for mixing the liquid ink. The sculptural form was chiseled from a solid block of stone, one end highly worked and the other left as is to preserve the craggy, organic texture of the natural rock.