Seal - A Practical Guide to Collecting Utilitarian Art Pieces

Author: Deng Jing / Country:
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Wood seal price reference about ￥4,000; Fake price reference ￥100; Size 33.37.5cm. Among the types of wood used for making seals, precious ones include zitan wood, while practical ones include huangyang wood. Zitan wood has a dense and hard texture, sinks in water, and is bright red or orange-red. After prolonged exposure to air, it turns purplish-red with brown stripes, featuring fine, floating, and ever-changing grain patterns with a fragrant aroma. Huangyang wood has a pale yellow color, is tough with fine grain and moderate hardness. It grows very slowly, and over time, its color gradually deepens from light to jujube red, making it suitable for intricate carving and displaying an elegant and classic beauty. In the Qing Dynasty, Chen Keshu wrote in "Seal Carving Needles" that carving wood seals is easier than ivory ones, with red seals not inferior to ivory, while white seals are flat and lack spirit. After the Song and Yuan dynasties, seals became a pastime for literati, with wood being one of the materials used. Qing Dynasty seal carvers such as Yang Longshi, Xie Meishi, Hu Linin, and Chen Shicheng left behind some excellent wood seals. There are many types of wood seals. They are not only commonly used for official seals, personal stamps, and name seals but were also one of the exclusive materials for the imperial court in the Qing Dynasty. In the 1970s, a Han Dynasty wood seal titled "Qie Xinzhui" was unearthed in Mawangdui, Changsha, which is the oldest wood seal in history and extremely valuable. Key Identification Points:
1. The first characteristic of wood seal material is "dense," referring to high-density hard wood.
2. The second characteristic is "fine," meaning the wood grain is fine.
3. The third characteristic is its variety, with expensive types like red wood and zitan wood, and cheaper types like huangyang wood and peach wood.
4. Zitan wood turns purplish-red after prolonged exposure to air, with brown stripes.
5. Huangyang wood's color gradually deepens from light to jujube red over time. P7