Turtle shaped bronze inkstone drop

Inkstone droplets, also known as water droplets or book droplets, are an ancient traditional writing utensil used to store inkstone water for grinding ink. The emergence of inkstone droplets is related to the use of brush and ink, as well as the rise of calligraphy and painting. At the latest during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, various shapes of water bowls appeared. People found that when using water bowls to pour water into inkstones, the water flow often exceeded the limit. As a result, objects that were easy to control the water flow appeared, which were called inkstone droplets. Inkstone droplets, also known as water droplets, water droplets, book droplets, toad droplets, etc. Those with a mouth are called "Shui Zhu", while those without a mouth are called "Shui Cheng".