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Hello - I'd love to know a bit more about this inkstone. It's double sided and has quite a bit of wear on one side. I'm intrigued why it needs to be reversible - clearly one can only use one side at a time! Any information about age would be great too - It's been in my family for over 50 years. I'm not even sure if it is stone or ceramic/clay - certainly it is uniform in colour, but I'm not sure.
Any information appreciated. Thank you. Ben

This is a nice inkstone, what are its dimensions? Mikeoz may chime in here faster than I can confirm but this does seem to be a Chengni 澄泥 insktone--based on clay. I cannot say why both sides are carved; as you say only one side can be used at a time. The peach relates to long life; the bat on the other side is a homophone for "good fortune". The carving is quite good without being spectacular--there are lots of spectacular and overly decorative inkstones out there that are brand new, and lots of simpler and more crudely carved inkstones that are genuine but less aesthetically pleasing. Thanks for sharing it. Nice honest piece that people will want you to sell. These can be hard to date. Early 20th century is quite plausible but 19th century is too.

Many thanks for your informative and positive reply. Re size, the inkstone is 135 x 75 x 23 mm. Much appreciated. Ben

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