Asian Arts | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries | Message Board



Message Board
Asian Art Forums

AsianArt.com Main Forum Message Index | Back | Post a New Message | Search | Private Mail | FAQ
Group: Message Board
Re: Re: Re: Can anyone please translate this Chinese seal?

Posted By: Sebastian B.
Posted Date: Jan 19, 2019 (12:20 AM)

Message
Dear mikeoz,
My apologies for the bad picture. Here I've taken a better one, cropped it, and upped the contrast a little, which I hope may help. I cannot imagine that this is genuine. That said it is fun to engage with the history and pull at loose threads. One thing I will say is that the more I look at it, the more I am impressed by how the sculptor used the natural grain of the stone in the composition. It's very beautiful to me. I also love the detail that they achieved (specially all the small teeth and the tongue inside the mouth).
I've been doing a little research these last few days (you inspired me) and from what little I have seen so far seems to indicate it is stone, possibly Shoushan stone (soapstone). Reading online (and in "Chinese Seals" by Weizu Sun) indicates that Shoushou stone was "gradually used after mid-Ming" and during Qing (so mid 1500's through 1911 and into modern times). The theme seems to be guardian lions (a male (larger one) and female (smaller one)). I even found a few seals online that were quite similar. Some even had writing on the sides as well, but the script used was very different. My eyes are not the best so I may have missed it, but I haven't found one yet with a similar style of script.
I recently purchased it while travelling in South America from a antiques store owner who said he had owned it for 30 years and had bought it (and all his Chinese pieces) in London, from a Chinese gentleman who brought it out of China from Taiwan a long time ago (there were Taiwanese export seals (like very old stickers) on most of the handscrolls which I hope to post later this week). Like I said, I cannot possibly imagine that this (or any of the pieces I purchased) are genuine, but even if they are copies, it would be wonderful to know from when and of what.
Perhaps translating the side script may help in solving the mystery. Thank you so much for your thoughts and time. I hope to post my (very amateurish) research on the other seal later this week. Thanks again!







Note that we are now reviewing postings before posting due to the large volume of SPAM and inappropriate postings on the forum. The validation process may take up to 12 hours.
Post a Reply
Name:
Email:
Group: Message Board
Subject:
Message:
Link URL:
Enter here the complete URL of any site, page or image you would like to show other visitors.
URL Title:
Enter here the title of the link you've given above. This will appear to the visitor. Eg., if you are linking another picture, enter "Another picture". The link will not appear without a title.
Image URL:
Enter here the URL of an image if it is already uploaded on the web. The image will appear with your posting. Do not post pictures which are not yours without permission from the copyright holder. It is the responsibility of each poster to make sure they have permission to use any photos they post.
Image: You may upload up to three images. If you would like to upload more images to this message please do so by replying to this same message.

Please make sure the file type is JPEG or GIF and the filename does not contain spaces.





Use the Browse button to find an image (jpg or gif) on a local drive on your computer to upload for including with your message. Do not upload images with file names containing spaces. Please do not upload files larger than 500 KB in size. Do not post pictures which are not yours without permission from the copyright holder. It is the responsibility of each poster to make sure they have permission to use any photos they post. Check the "email notification" box below if you would like to be notified of any responses to your message.
Check here for email notification.
Security Code: Security Image: please enter the text appears in this image.

Please type in the code you see in the image directly above this input box.
Responses:



Asian Arts | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries | Message Board