What do you think these are used for?
Who would use them?
Where do you think they were made?
Answers:
What do you think these are used for? Who would use them?
These are inkstones for sumi-e or ink-wash painting, a style of painting used in China and East Asia. In ink-wash painting, black ink is used to depict scenes in such a way that realism is less important than showing what is more "innate" or "essential" about the subject. These inkstones are used to grind solidified ink, and then water is added so the ink can be used for painting.
Where do you think they were made?
These inkstones were made in Japan (in Japanese, suzuri) in the first decades of the 20th century, and were donated to the Karshner Center in 1935.
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