Writing Brush

This is a tool used for calligraphy or painting. The tip of a writing brush is made by collecting and combining hairs of various animals, binding them in a conical shape, before lodging them into the stalk. Stalks of writing brushes are usually made of bamboo, but some brushes might use round wood, ivory or porcelain instead. Materials for the tip of a writing brush include hairs of animals such as weasels, goats, wolves, rabbits, and martens, and even human hair in rare cases. Brushes would only use hair with uncut ends. In general, hard hair is used as the core of the brush with soft hair wrapped around it. Brushes had different names and purposes according to the shape, size, texture, and thickness of the tip, and therefore people possessed and used different kinds of brushes to suit various needs. For example, the hair used for writing brushes had to be stiff and pointy, luxuriant and neat, round with a well-tied upper part, and elastic despite lasting use. The writing brush shown here was made of sheep’s hair, and its stalk was made of tube-shaped mottled bamboo. A cap is placed on top of the stalk using a string to hang it on a writing-brush rack. There is an ornamental cap made of horn on the part joining the stalk to the tip of the writing brush, with a net covering the bottom of it.