A finely moulded inkcake dated Kangxi Yihai (1695)

in the form of a rooftile, the rectangular upper surface with a framed panel well carved in low relief and highlighted in gilt with a Buddha meditating on a rock, the reverse with a long inscription, one side with the mark Kangxi Yihai nian dongyue, corresponding to the winter of 1695 

Sydney L. Moss Ltd. 

The rare concave form and decoration of the inkcake is probably derived from an inkstone.  The Buddhistic inscription to the reverse can be translated as follows: "Life pertains to the Moon, and Nature belongs to the Sun.  As the Three Wheels congregate, the moment of contemplative vacancy approaches and the mystical dot is formed.  Life and Nature reside in colour without being dyed, for the colour is not the light itself.  When Life and Nature are in the world of the Buddha, they are void and vast, complete and bright; when they dwell in living beings they are like the shadows of light.  They are like bubbles on the water; they are like lightning amid the clouds.  They appear to be, and appear not to be.  Beings are born as they hold on to the false, and beings die as they leave the false."