About Daun Inkstone

A new letter from Iceland:

i wrote to you last week asking when my order would arrive, well, it
arrived the day after i got your reply! I havn´t writen to thank you
before now because i was so excited by my order! I love it! I have never
used good quality chinese calligraphy products before, so this is quite
new to me, and i was quite suprised at the quality, esp the ink stone.
The stone i got, i think, was $40, so the problem now is, i´m thinking,
how much better will the stone feel and look if i spend, say, $80?
once again, thank you, i WILL be buying from you again soon.

--------- pete from iceland, Dec. 12, 2005.



A few words about the cost of these Duan inkstones. If you take the cost of these beautiful all hand carved out ROSE wood boxes, then it's really not costing as much as it looks. Just the labor cost of a 15 inch box is $35, then 5% tax, 17% VAT tax, then cost of importing to USA really adds up to the whole package. The wood is heavy and solid, it's a kind of ROSE wood imported into China, hand made in Zhaoching, Guang Zhou. Cover and base is one whole piece, carved out from one piece of wood. The wood box is not just for looking good, rather these boxes worth colleting and they cover the un-used ink for later use during the day. It sure protects the inkstone very well.
All of the Duan inkstones offered here are picked out by Yingxing this summer from three very reputable local inkstone makers at Zhao Qing, Guanzhou where the Duan mines exploited for thousands of years. To ensure it's genuity, we brought a Duan inkstone expert with us for the trip. Because the tourism in Huangshan was so hot, we were not able to fly back to Hui Zhou, we had to fly to Hangzhou first, then take the bus up and down the two huge mountains between Hang Zhou and She county on the dirt road!
All inkstones are picked out to ensure it's perfection and making fine ink for artists! As labor cost in Guanzhou is so high, seeking exquisit carving is just beyond everyone's pocket change!
Please read what Song Chinese art master and collector Mi Fu (1052-1107) wrote: "The merit of an implement depends on it's being usable. Of jade one does not make sacrificial tripods, of earthenware one does not make pillars. ...... In just the same way the grain of the stone and producing of ink are the main things; the color comes next, and least important are the shape and quality of the workmanship."
Here is what our customer say "I received the Duan inkstone and the ink Thursday. The inkstone is indeed beautiful, and it grinds very good ink!"
Nov 19th, 2002

	dun10	Suggested Price: $80_LastOneInUSA
	Size: 5.0 x 3.3 x 0.7 inches	Your Cost: $50
	Quantity

	dun04	Suggested Price: $120
	Size: 7.0 x 4.0 x 0.88 inches	Your Cost: $80_SoldOutReplaceWDun05
	Quantity

	dun027	Suggested Price: $120
	Size: 6.0 x 4.1 x 0.68 inches	Your Cost: $70
	Quantity

	dun05	Suggested Price: $120
	Size: 7.0 x 4.0 x 1.13 inches 17.75 x 10 x 2.85 CM	Your Cost: $80
	Quantity

	dun01	Suggested Price: $160
	Size: 8.0 x 5.0 x 1.13	Your Cost: $120
	Quantity

	dun09	Suggested Price: $100
	Size: 6.0 x 4.0 x 1.02 inches	Your Cost: $80_SoldOutReplaceWDun05
	Quantity