Chinese Seals: Simple, elegant seal

Dimensions: 1"h x 1.3"w x 1" deep
Studio name: 大年 Da Nian
Given name: : Weng Da Nian (1811-1890?)
Inscription: 朗亭先生屬大年 lang ting xian sheng shu da nian At the request of Mr. Lang Ting (signed) Da Nian
Impression: 沈兆霖印 Chao Zhao Lin yin , Chao Zhao Lin's seal (Lang Ting is Chao Zhao Lin's studio name)

Simple and elegant. The usual 'reading' for a seal is right column-top to bottom, then left column. This one starts top right and reads counter-clockwise

The Palace Museum Beijing, has a Da Nian seal online. They say the side inscription is his signature, but it says 均叔 Jun Shu. I dunno'

Some background

While acquiring some Asian art of dubious provenance I found myself admiring the red seals (chops) more than the pictures. I now have about 150. Pecuniary considerations prevent me from acquiring seals of emperors or famous artists. Just as well, as my tastes run to the idiosyncratic and peculiar, a result, I suppose, of my involvment with contemporary art. I find the pugnacious lion below as interesting as the elegant dragon above.

Historically seal impressions are admired as tiny works of art, "the world in a square inch" as the author Jason Kuo says. The writing used in seals (zhuanshu) uses the first uniformly adopted Chinese script (c. 220 BCE) to convey names, ideas and sentiments. The side of the seal frequently carries a poetic verse, a scenic description, the date of the seal's engraving and/or the name of the carver in kaishu which after about 350 CE became (and is called) 'standard script.' So, in very short compass, there is a tight living history of the central Chinese artistic practice, calligraphy.

Originally (and still) seals were made in bronze or jade. For the past 500 years or so the material of choice has been varieties of soapstone known variously as Shou Shan, Mei Ling, Ba Lin and several others. These stones are prized above gems for their beauty. Some seals are plain in form; others are elaborately carved and decorated, frequently making clever use of color transitions in the stone. Ideally a seal will have a balance between the stone itself, carving, side inscriptions and impression.

Because Asian artists used a 'studio name,' usually poetic, to sign their works, their given names can be elusive. A traditional Chinese dating system uses a sixty-year revolving lunar calendar making exact dating a problem also. Where I'm unsure of a character I put in vacant brackets []. I don't speak or read Chinese, but have gotten pretty good at using both zhuanshu and kaishu dictionaries. My thanks to Alan Ho for making up for some of my many deficiencies.

The first (bottom) post here is a list of recommended books.

Chinese Seals

Simple, elegant seal

Links to my other sites

Bookstores/Websites for seals

Some background