Chinese Ink Sticks

06 August 2021

Chinese antiques

Description

There are two boxes made of wood about 12" x 9" x 2", each has 6 decorative ink sticks each. The sticks themselves are several inches long and inch thick and in different rectangle, circle or square shapes with Chinese characters printed and embedded on all sides. There are also different pictures and designs on them (I think representing the Chinese zodiac?).

Provenance

I don't know how old they are, I inherited them from my grandfather after he passed. He was originally from China and a huge art fan. If they are old (the boxes are somewhat falling apart) they seem to be in pretty good condition, some of the edges look like they may be crumbling slightly (see pictures). All I know about value is he wrote "very valuable" on the package.

Acquired from
Inherited

For sale
Yes

Answered within 6 days

By Leah I.

Aug 12, 18:57 UTC

Fair Market Value

$1,200 - $2,000 USD

Suggested Asking Price $1,600 USD

What does this mean?

Thank you for contacting Mearto and I am so sorry for the delay. This is a set of two boxes of finely detailed Chinese ink sticks totaling 12 pieces. Several feature inlaid gilt seal script and traditional lettering, as well as figural and floral motifs in pigmented metallics and low relief. I was unfortunately unable to identify the seals, which may indicate maker or production company.

In my research, I had difficulty determining the value of your pieces. There are a great number of ink cakes like this on the market and the prices range dramatically. Looking through sales records, I have tried to find pieces that are roughly the same in complexity as yours and I’ve included links to sale prices below.

The note you included indicated that these may be Qing (1644 to 1912) or Ming (1368–1644). The likelihood is Qing, but I looked at hammer prices for Ming cakes as well.

I don’t feel like I can give you a satisfactory answer here. My appraisal value is a rough estimate based on most sales. I recommend contacting more specialized appraisers if possible, especially to rule out the possibility that they are more valuable.
I added links below to some ideas.

We do offer refunds on our Terms of Use page and I wish I could be more helpful. Please let me know if I can assist further!

Christie’s general form (no fee):
https://bit.ly/37FgLd0

Christie’s Chinese art dept. contacts:
https://www.christies.com/departments/Chinese-Ceramics-Works-of-Art-15-1.aspx?pagesection=contacts#contacts

Sotheby’s general form (no fee):
https://bit.ly/3fY441o

Sotheby’s Chinese art dept. contacts at bottom of page:
https://www.sothebys.com/en/departments/chinese-works-of-art?locale=en

*Doyle and Bonhams are two other houses.

Chinese art appraisers with fees (I haven’t worked with any of these):
https://www.chineseartappraisal.com/
http://www.patriciagraham.net/appraising/

Hammer prices:

$70 for 9 in box
https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/asian-art-32-c-e15487d8fa

$25
https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/chinese-ink-cake-300-c-1e94c0e97e

3 for $175
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/80468695_group-of-three-chinese-ink-sticks

$440, Ming
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/104673648_an-imperial-inkstick-ming-jiajing-mark-and