Chengni Inkstone with Inscription of “Zhongju Chengni”

Unearthed from the Song-dynasty tomb in Sanxing village, Chengbei town of Yangzhou city in 1998, this ceramic piece is one of the best Song-dynasty Chengni Inkstones, which is one of the four most famous categories of Chinese inkslabs. A square platform with an 8.5 cm-long sideline erects in the center of the inkstone plain, resulting in a 回-shaped pool. Traces of ink are still visible on the platform, while a square seal of sunken-line Chinese characters reading “Zhongju Chengji” can be found on the slightly concave exterior bottom.