Jiang Zhengxuan’s Jade Ink

[Jiang Zhengxuan Jade Ink]

Jiang Zhengxuan Jade Ink, Ming Jiajing, 8.1 cm in diameter and 0.9 cm in thickness
Ink circle. The two sides of the ink cake have raised frames, and the ink surface is carved with a dragon rising and falling between the clouds and water. The ink back is inscribed with “Xuanyu” in the seal script in Yangwen, and the ink side is inscribed with “Jiajing Gengzi Qingchuanjiang Zhengzhi”
Jiangzheng’s ink making has been recorded in Ma Sanheng’s Mo Zhi of the Ming Dynasty and Yu Yang essence of the Qing Dynasty, but this ingot is the only thing handed down from generation to generation. The “Jiajing Gengzi” is the 19th year of Jiajing (1540), which can corroborate the records of Jiangzheng’s life in the literature. The water pattern of the dragon opera with ink decoration was first seen in the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty and was popular in the late Ming Dynasty. This theme has a distinctive era style. This ink can be seen in the “Record of Ink Collection in Zhongzhou”, and it is a masterpiece of Ming ink


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