Juque Stone Inkstone

Juque Stone Inkstone

　　Juque Stone Inkstone

　　The area of Juque County is now part of Yongren County in Yunnan Province, while the source of the inkstone stone is under the jurisdiction of Panzhihua City. This type of inkstone first began production during the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty and is primarily characterized by its abundant stone eyes. The stone colors range from jade-like green to golden pupils and crescent-like white. The stone eyes display multicolored halos, including more than ten varieties such as parrot-eye, dragon-eye, cat-eye, and vermilion phoenix-eye. Some appear solitary or paired, some cluster in threes or fives, slanting across the surface like a vast galaxy with its myriad bright stars. Juque stone has insulating and heat-resistant properties, and allows ink to be ground simply by breathing on it. The stone is firm yet not overly hard, preserves old ink without decay, and keeps ink stored within it from drying out. Due to the similarity of Juque stone’s texture and patterns to those of Duan stone, some Juque inkstones are falsely sold as Duan inkstones.