Antique Chinese Japanese Ink Sticks Lot 1 (Set of 3, 2 Broken)

We believe these soot ink sticks were purchased by Alice Burr in China in the 1920s or 1930s. 
 
They are works of art in themselves. Used for calligraphy and drawing, these carved ink sticks are each intricately decorated as shown in photos. One features Chinese or Japanese text on one side (very hard to see without looking closely at it), another a colorful image with three persons, and the third, the largest in this set, a man out in nature. All three have text on the back, some in color. Two also have text on the side, possibly the artist’s name.
 
Should you choose to try using them, you will need an inkstone on which to grind them with water to create ink. There are special inkstone trays available that slope to a deeper area for pooling of ink, but you can also use a touchstone or black stone to create small pools of ink. 
 
Two of the three are broken already as shown in photos. They are clean breaks, not broken from use. 
 
Smallest: 3 x 3/4 x 1/2”
Medium: 3 1/4 x 7/8 x 1/2”
Largest: 4” x 1 1/4” x 3/8”
 
Disclaimer: We have tried to make sure colors shown in photos are representative of the real colors of each item. We have tried to identify all imperfections in descriptions, but we may have missed some. If you are unhappy with your purchase, let us know.