The craftsman retained this inkstone’s naturally rough surface, while an ink pool is carved in the centre. The covered box is most probably made from a type of tropical hardwood, which emulates rosewood. Characters are inscribed on the inkstone’s top right corner – the two legible characters read ‘Shitian,’ which is the sobriquet of the Ming schoar-painter, Shen Zhou (1427-1509). On its revrse side is an inscription, which ends with a carved seal of Wenshan. The ‘first year of Jingyan’ in the inscription refers to 1276, while ‘Wenshan’ is the sobriquet of Wen Tianxiang (1236-1283), who served as Prime Minister in the Southern Song court.
