Retired Brig. Gen. Neal Sealock served 31 years in the U.S. Army. During those years, he and his family moved 26 times. One of those moves sparked an unusual collection.
In the mid-1980s, he was selected to serve as a foreign area officer - a commissioned officer in the U.S. Armed Forces who specializes in political-military operations in a specific region.
With several countries to choose from, he and his wife, Donna, narrowed their foreign language options down to Urdu, Russian or Chinese.
"We sat at the table, and each wrote down our choice on a piece of paper," Donna recalled. "Then we passed them across the table."
Both had selected Chinese.
After a year of intensive study stateside, they shipped out to Hong Kong, where Neal attended the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense Chinese Language School.
He traveled throughout China during his immersive training.
"Part of our education was learning about the food and the culture," he said.
One of his first forays was to Guangzhou.
He wandered through the open-air markets, testing his language skills and admiring the wares - especially items featuring intricate Chinese calligraphy. The brushes (maobi) in all sizes and varieties especially intrigued him, so he bought one.
Next, he traveled to Nanjing and visited a market in the early morning. He spotted an elegantly carved hardwood frame (maobi jia) designed to hold and display calligraphy brushes.
"We're a two-dragon household," Neal said. "We were both born in the Year of the Dragon."
The frame that caught his eye featured dragon heads on each side, with their bodies and tails crossing in the middle.
"I loved it," he said. "It was so ornate, and it had two dragons!"
He returned to Hong Kong with the brush and the frame.
"The collection was well underway when I befriended a little man in what I called the 'dirt market,' " she said.
The market was little more than blankets spread on the ground. He sold calligraphy brushes and showed Donna that some were for paint and others for ink.
"A different brush was used for mountains, a different one for fish - the type of bristle depends on how much ink or paint is absorbed."
Curious about Neal's collection, she brought his first purchase to the man and asked what the bristle was made of.
When she returned a couple of weeks later, he had her answer.
"He had a picture of a lynx and pointed to its eyelashes," said Donna. "It gave me such an appreciation - we didn't know what a treasure we had."
Most brush handles are crafted from bamboo, bone or wood.
Their collection grew when they returned to Hong Kong in 1990, where Neal served as an attaché with the embassy for two years. In 2002, they were sent to Beijing where he served as a Chinese foreign area officer.
From thin brushes used to ink extremely small characters to a large poster-painting brush with horsehair bristles, their collection numbers over 100.
Donna held her favorite - a bone or ivory-handled item with snow leopard bristles.
"It's a little piece of art in itself."
As the collection grew, they added more frames featuring dragons, as well as brush jars and rests, and a small calligraphy kit with a slate ink stone.
"It's an art and an exercise," Neal said of Chinese calligraphy.
He added a few drops of water to the stone and swirled it around with a brush.
"First, you practice with water, then you use ink. I admire the discipline of it."
When they traveled in China, Donna said they always took pens and pencils to give as gifts to those they met.
"These were hard to come by, and the people were so pleased."
Their collection brings them a wealth of fond memories.
"It reminds me of being in China and the interactions I had with the people," Neal said. "Their work ethic is amazing, but they're also very jovial. I admired their festivity."
Donna agreed.
"The more we collected, the more we found out about the real China, its people and its culture."