Zhao Ziqian Seal Collection

Author: Shanghai Shuxue Publishing House
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1979-12-01
Features: Zhao Ziqian (1829–1884), styled Shu, was also known as Yifu, Tiesan, Hanchao, Lengjun, and Wumen, among other names. He was a native of Wuxi (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang). As an outstanding artist of the late Qing Dynasty, he achieved remarkable success in various fields, including epigraphy, poetry, painting, calligraphy, and seal carving, each with a unique style.
Zhao Ziqian initially learned the Zhe School of seal carving before delving deeply into the studies of Qin and Han seals, Song and Yuan red-seal styles, and the An School of seal carving. Inspired by Deng Shiru's use of various scripts in seal carving, he widely incorporated seal scripts from Qin dynasty ceremonial tablets, Han stele inscriptions, coinage, and mirror inscriptions into his works. His subjects were diverse, his artistic conception fresh, his cutting techniques concise yet expressive, breaking away from the conventions of Qin and Han seals. He also occasionally used six-century sculptures and positive inscriptions, providing new approaches for seal carving. His contributions to the art of seal carving were significant.
Zhao Ziqian approached seal carving with great seriousness, rarely carving at the first attempt. His works were not widely circulated, and his closest friends Wei Jiasun, Fu Shi, and students like Zhu Zhiru collected his old and new drafts over time, but only over three hundred seals were found at the time. Zhao Ziqian Seal Collection is a compilation of his works from his early twenties to his forties. In his self-used seals, they are arranged in order of the length of the inscriptions, while the seals used by others are categorized separately for easy reference.