The Four Treasures of the Studio Introduction

The brush, the ink stick, the ink stone and the paper – the implements needed for Chinese traditional painting and writing – have been known as the ‘four treasures of the studio’ since the end of the 10th century when there was a shop of that name selling the equipment in Anhui province. These ‘treasures’ are the basic necessities required to paint traditional Chinese subjects in ‘shades of black’.