Help me identify these Asian printing blocks?
January 15, 2005 12:51 PM Subscribe
Can anyone help me find out more about my set of (what I assume to be) Oriental printing blocks? I know this is quite a long shot, but my Google-fu has failed me... [+]
My boyfriend gave me a set of eight blocks in an old, water-stained box with what looks like ivory fastenings for xmas. He found them in an antique shop, and I am a bit of a Japanophile so he thought they'd interest me.
They're clay, ceramic or earthenware of some sort, one inch by four and various solid colours. On the backs they each have kanji characters written in gold (this makes me think they're Chinese as there's no Japanese kana). On the front each has a raised pattern, partly gold-leafed, forming part of a landscape scene (they don't match up), and two more kanji.
Everything I've found about Chinese/Japanese printing blocks refers to wooden ones, which these are definitely not. Any ideas, o wondrous Mefites?
My boyfriend gave me a set of eight blocks in an old, water-stained box with what looks like ivory fastenings for xmas. He found them in an antique shop, and I am a bit of a Japanophile so he thought they'd interest me.
They're clay, ceramic or earthenware of some sort, one inch by four and various solid colours. On the backs they each have kanji characters written in gold (this makes me think they're Chinese as there's no Japanese kana). On the front each has a raised pattern, partly gold-leafed, forming part of a landscape scene (they don't match up), and two more kanji.
Everything I've found about Chinese/Japanese printing blocks refers to wooden ones, which these are definitely not. Any ideas, o wondrous Mefites?
Response by poster: Pics here, but not very clear I'm afraid as either my camera doesn't have a good sharp close-up focus, or I don't know how to use it (plus I shake):
1 2 3 4 5
posted by corvine at 1:39 PM on January 15, 2005
1 2 3 4 5
posted by corvine at 1:39 PM on January 15, 2005
Something about those tickles the back of my mind, but I can't think of what they are--sorry! I do want to second adamrice, plenty of Japanese artifacts have kanji without any hint of the kana on them anywhere. This fact does make it difficult to figure out which country they originate from, but them's the breaks.
posted by cyrusdogstar at 1:46 PM on January 15, 2005
posted by cyrusdogstar at 1:46 PM on January 15, 2005
Response by poster: Anything at all you can offer would be helpful, as I know nada at the moment.
I'm currently trying to translate the kanji, but I'm using the Japanese readings, so if they are Chinese then I'm probably barking completely up the wrong tree.
posted by corvine at 1:51 PM on January 15, 2005
I'm currently trying to translate the kanji, but I'm using the Japanese readings, so if they are Chinese then I'm probably barking completely up the wrong tree.
posted by corvine at 1:51 PM on January 15, 2005
Oh! I just had a thought!
These look similar to the blocks that artists (calligraphers, painters, &c) use--again, unsure if this is specific to China, Japan, or used in both like so many things are--use to sign their works of art.
Usually they're a single, very elaborate symbol (I am unsure if they count as kanji--they're more like family symbols and the like, and are more intricate than kanji) in a smallish, square block. However, I distinctly remember seeing long, rectangular blocks of kanji in red ink on various Asian works of art, which would match up very well with those blocks of yours if they were pressed onto a red ink pad.
However, I'm a computer scientist, not an Asian art scholar, so take this with a grain of salt. Hopefully someone will come along to correlate or refute my theory =)
posted by cyrusdogstar at 1:53 PM on January 15, 2005
These look similar to the blocks that artists (calligraphers, painters, &c) use--again, unsure if this is specific to China, Japan, or used in both like so many things are--use to sign their works of art.
Usually they're a single, very elaborate symbol (I am unsure if they count as kanji--they're more like family symbols and the like, and are more intricate than kanji) in a smallish, square block. However, I distinctly remember seeing long, rectangular blocks of kanji in red ink on various Asian works of art, which would match up very well with those blocks of yours if they were pressed onto a red ink pad.
However, I'm a computer scientist, not an Asian art scholar, so take this with a grain of salt. Hopefully someone will come along to correlate or refute my theory =)
posted by cyrusdogstar at 1:53 PM on January 15, 2005
Response by poster: I hadn't thought of that. You're right, they do look very alike, but the kanji on the blocks aren't raised at all. They're recessed very slightly and filled in with gold leaf or paint. It's only the other side, the landscape image, that's raised.
I'm a comp-sci myself, just with a passing interest in Japanese culture. I'm beginning to think a visit to the Asian department at the British Museum might be worth a go.
posted by corvine at 2:01 PM on January 15, 2005
I'm a comp-sci myself, just with a passing interest in Japanese culture. I'm beginning to think a visit to the Asian department at the British Museum might be worth a go.
posted by corvine at 2:01 PM on January 15, 2005
Ah, yea, I had mis-remembered which side was raised. Bummer. However, if you're near the British Museum (lucky!) then I'd be surprised if you couldn't at least get some pointers there, if not a full solution.
Good luck!
posted by cyrusdogstar at 2:07 PM on January 15, 2005
Good luck!
posted by cyrusdogstar at 2:07 PM on January 15, 2005
This is a guess: I think these are paperweights used by calligraphers. The gold text is probably some Buddhist aphorism in Chinese (which doesn't necessarily preclude a Japanese origin), though I can't read them (and don't know Chinese, anyhow). The little rectangles of knocked-out text is a cartouche/chop/seal, although whose I don't know.
posted by adamrice at 3:36 PM on January 15, 2005
posted by adamrice at 3:36 PM on January 15, 2005
Second Chinese colored ink sticks, especially if they're kinda crumbly around the edges. I've never actually used any, but yours look a bit small for paperweights. If you get clearer pics I could probably translate the text.
posted by casarkos at 4:22 PM on January 15, 2005
posted by casarkos at 4:22 PM on January 15, 2005
Response by poster: I do believe dorian and cmyk may have it. The colours are identical and the box (although very battered) has exactly the same style of fastening as the ones in the bottom two pictures of that link. Adds up. Thanks, guys.
posted by corvine at 4:23 PM on January 15, 2005
posted by corvine at 4:23 PM on January 15, 2005
Response by poster: casarkos - definitely Chinese? I'm trying to translate them myself with my limited Japanese, but I only have a Japanese kanji dictionary. I'll try for clearer pics at some point when I'm more awake and you can tell me if my attempts at translation are total rubbish or not :)
posted by corvine at 4:26 PM on January 15, 2005
posted by corvine at 4:26 PM on January 15, 2005
it's really hard to tell if something like that is chinese or japanese (or even korean) -- the style of things that would be written would be so generally traditional (whether poetry or a company name) that even if made in japan or korea it would still most likely be very "chinese".
(also, the paperweights for brush painting are generally much larger, sticks of unadorned wood/ivory/stone/bone/etc. about a foot long and ~1 inch square-ish)
/recent-ex-girlfriend-hk-master-chinese-brush-painter
posted by dorian at 5:05 PM on January 15, 2005
(also, the paperweights for brush painting are generally much larger, sticks of unadorned wood/ivory/stone/bone/etc. about a foot long and ~1 inch square-ish)
/recent-ex-girlfriend-hk-master-chinese-brush-painter
posted by dorian at 5:05 PM on January 15, 2005
I'm almost positive (may regret that statement later) that it's Chinese - from what I can make out in the photos I've never seen a lot of those characters used in Japanese.
posted by casarkos at 5:47 PM on January 15, 2005
posted by casarkos at 5:47 PM on January 15, 2005
These look like ink sticks to me, for calligraphy or Chinese brush painting. It is indeed Chinese, classical Chinese. Hard to make out because of the fuzziness of the photos and the obscurity (at least to me) of some of the characters, but the stone in your picture #1 says something along the lines of “In the clouds and fog, the steaming mountain mist [something something] the tea-picking song resonates through the entire valley.”
The writing is vertical, starting at the upper right, with the gold rectangle (probably a personal seal) in the bottom left, as shown in your first picture. Here’s a website of brushes, inkstone and ink sticks, but if you google around you’ll find lots more.
posted by mono blanco at 10:30 PM on January 15, 2005
The writing is vertical, starting at the upper right, with the gold rectangle (probably a personal seal) in the bottom left, as shown in your first picture. Here’s a website of brushes, inkstone and ink sticks, but if you google around you’ll find lots more.
posted by mono blanco at 10:30 PM on January 15, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by adamrice at 1:21 PM on January 15, 2005