The inksticks feature designs based on a series of illustrations by the Qing court painter, Jiao Bingzhen, known as Gengzhi tu (“Pictures of Farming and Weaving”). Each of the inkstick depicts a stage in the production of silk. One of the inksticks bears the mark ‘Cao Sugong Jinzhi’ (“Respectfully made by Cao Sugong”). Cao was the most famous ink maker of the early Qing period whose creations were presented to the court.
