Ink cake with cyclical imagery
Chinese ink is made by mixing animal glue with carbon collected from burning resinous wood or vegetable oil. It is molded into various shapes, including rectangular tablets and round cakes, then ground on an inkstone with water to produce liquid ink. Some ink cakes are further embellished with molded designs. This disk has been decorated with the twelve zodiac animals and a Western-style clock face on one side and a poem in elegant calligraphy on the other.
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