Inkstone with Su Wu. Culture: China. Dimensions: H. 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm); W. 6 3/4 in. (17.1 cm); D. 1 in. (2.5 cm). Date: 18th-19th century.The back of this inkstone is adorned with a picture of Su Wu (d. 60 B.C.), an emissary of the Han dynasty who was detained by a nomadic ruler to tend goats in the frigid steppeland of southern Siberia. It is carved out of a fine-grained stone with natural markings that was quarried in Shaoxiang, Guangdong Province. Its low water permeability and low absorbency, as well as the inclusion of moderately hard grains within its fine structures, make it an excellent material for inkstones. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.