Gu Family Collection of Ancient Seals

Author: Gu Congde [Ming Dynasty]
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2000-01-01
Features: The Gu Family Collection of Ancient Seals and Stamps is one of the earliest existing compilations of ancient Chinese seals and stamps, compiled by Gu Congde of the Ming Dynasty in Longqing Renshen (1572). The Gu Family Collection of Ancient Seals and Stamps originally consisted of six volumes, and the one collected by Xie Lei Ming is the complete set. The Gu Family Collection of Ancient Seals and Stamps now held by the Xiling Seal Society was once owned by Zhang Lu'an and only contains four volumes. Therefore, Xie Lei Ming's Gu Family Collection of Ancient Seals and Stamps is particularly valuable. In the summer of 1926, Xie Lei Ming asked Fang Jiekang to take this seal collection to pay respects to Wu Changshuo, hoping to have him inscribe it. Wu Changshuo, upon seeing the collection, was amazed and said that he had personally viewed countless treasures of gold, stone, calligraphy, and painting in his life, but had never had the chance to see the complete Gu Family Collection of Ancient Seals and Stamps, which deeply troubled him. To finally see this precious item in his later years was a great blessing. Later, this collection was owned by Xie Lei Ming's daughter-in-law, Fang Jie'an. After the Cultural Revolution, Fang Jiekang saw the collection again and was filled with emotions, writing a long preface to record the event. Today, its whereabouts are unknown. Judging from the calligraphic style and engraving techniques, the vast majority of the seals collected in this volume are Han dynasty seals, with a small number of Warring States period ancient seals and seals from the Wei and Jin dynasties.