Oriental Antiques

The Four Treasures of the scholar are stone, ink, brush and paper. But around these essential objects, there is a galaxy of accessories that are as useful as they are precious.

The dry ink of ancient times was made from better material and knowhow than today, and their decor often richer. Besides, Chinese and Japanese ink is like the best Bordeaux wine and grows better in ageing. Consequently collectors in China and America are more and more ready to pay big sums to acquire beautiful pieces, in competition with museums. Our inksticks were purchased by us during the 1970s from specialized antique dealers in China. They have been packed on our order in indigo cotton individual boxes. They are fragile but will keep for ever time if in a not too damp or dry atmosphere especially it they already show some slight surface cracks due to their age. Avoid display with inside light and put a little glass of water on the shelf.

Inkstones are the flat slab in which calligraphers and painters grind their inkstick. They have always made from precise and hard to mine pits in a few regions of China such as Duan in the South and She in Anhui province. Owners of these stones show a deep and exclusive passion for them, as did the wonderful Mi Fu or several emperors.

The "Cultural Revolution" imposed the destruction of all "oldies". Then craftsmen imagined to give a "red" style to their productions, in particular for the illustrations of the ink sticks. Hence a collection whose themes evoke politically correct events or plays, handycrafted by people with little experience and in a generally naive style. This production only took place for a short time, around 1970, when we had the chance to get our hands on it. This will never happen again and these curiosities have become very rare.