The Seal Cutting

Posted at: 2010-5-2; By lussie; Clicks:344

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The seal cutting

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The seal cutting is an unique part of the Chinese culture. This dates back about 3.700 years to Yin Dynasty. People engrave the characters on the shells of the tortoise. It flourished in Qin Dynasty, when people engraved their names on the utensils and documents which were made of bamboo and wood to show ownership or authorship.

The characters on the seals may be engraved in relief or in intaglic. The materials for the seals could be the wood, stones, horns, jades, agate, crystals, ivory, etc.

Cutting seal as a job of art should be remarkable in three aspects- calligraphy, composition and the engraver’s handwork. The artist should be good at writing various styles of the Chinese character. He should know how to arrange within a small space a number of characters. He also should be familiar with the vavious materials, such as stones, brass or ivory, etc.

My friend presented a beautiful seal cutting as my birthday gift which is made of stone. One end is engraved my name, and the other end is engraved turtle figure. In China, the turtle stands for long life and health. Recently, my colleague Jean was interested in engraving the seal. She present me a seal. I was so glad. These gifts are special and unique and I will reserve them carefully.

Tags: China Facts Chinese Arts Seal Cutting

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