Calligraphy tools A tool brings medium on a support. In this section tools are mainly handmade brushes. they are classified according to the nature of their hair. Whenever it has been possible the total length is montionned in cm, while the head size is given in mm: diameter at the bottom of the hair and length.
Calligraphy mediums A medium is what the tool leaves on the support. In this chapter you'll find mainly natural ink for the rich variations of black or pigments for colour painting.
Calligraphy supports China, Japan and a great part of Asia form the great Empire of living paper.
Calligraphy accessories Beside the four main tools (ink and pigments, paper, stone, brush) there are hundred of implements that secure and help artists' actions. Thay are also worth collecting.
Your Four Treasures
Ink, stone, brush and paper are seen by Chinese and Japanese people as highly respected treasures: the four main tools with which characters or painting can be made and trasmetted through history. A history already 2 000 years old. Ink has to be rubbed with a little water on the flat special stone, where a black liquid begins to appear after a while. The brush then takes this substance and puts it on (and into) the natural unsized paper. Everything is handmade according to very old recipes and the resources of nature, harmony is preserved. Here, a Hokusai drawing shows how precious these things can be.
