The Ink Society was very honoured to present a talk by collector Kenneth Chu, who together with wife Betty Lo, are the owners of Mengdiexuan Collection. In his insightful talk, Kenneth spoke on the history and connoisseurship of inkstones. Amongst the Four Treasures of the Scholar's Studio—ink, brush, paper and inkstones, it was the inkstone that was the most highly prized. Using examples from the Mengdiexuan Collection as well as from museum collections, Kenneth spoke about the different artistic styles, forms and materials of inkstones from the Han to Qing dynasty. Kenneth also shared some anecdotes about famous collectors and aficionados of inkstones, such as Song dynasty's Mi Fu who recorded his obsession for a particular inkstone in his calligraphic piece Zijin Yan Tie.
