Antique Chinese Japanese Ink Sticks Lot 4: Colors (Set of 3)

We believe these color 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. All three of these feature dragons rising from the water on the front and an array of what could be jellyfish and birds eating them on the back, with jellyfish symbols on the other sides.
 
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. 
 
As shown in photos, all three of these are in original condition, not cracked or broken.
 
Bonus: We include the red color soot ink sticks, broken already, which we used to demonstrate how these work. (The touchstone is not included.)
 
Each approx. H 3 1/4” x L 3/4” x D 1/2” (the blue is a bit shorter than the others)
 
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.