Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica

As one of the four famous inkstones in China, She inkstone has high economic and artistic value. She inkstone samples were collected in Wuyuan, Jiangxi Province. To explore the causes of the unique texture of She inkstone, and the mechanism of ink generation in She inkstone, this paper has observed and tested samples under optical microscope, environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and electron microprobe (EMPA). The results have indicated that the main minerals of She inkstone include sericite, quartz and chlorite. It has also found that the She inkstone’s different texture is controlled by the degree of metamorphism of primary minerals and the stress deformation of original rock. Combining its microscopic structure and inkstone edge mechanism, quartz provides coarse grinding, sericite and chlorite provide fine grinding during the ink-making process. By calculating the density of She inkstone’s edges, this paper argued that She inkstone is belong to high-density group, and quantitatively evaluated the practical properties of She inkstone from a numerical perspective. Combined with self-sharpening edge mechanism, this paper explains why She inkstone can maintain excellent ink-making performance for a long time. In comparison with other inkstones, She inkstone shows outstanding advantages in both ornamental and practical aspects.

She inkstone; forming reasons of texture; ink-making mechanism