In the modern seal cutting world, there are probably only two styles of seals we see most often: one is square and the other is strip (actually rectangular). Of course, there are also occasional round and oval seals (which should be included in what we usually call the "shaped seals" category). However, during the Zhou Dynasty and the Warring States Period, the styles of ancient seals were very rich, such as the triangular and elliptical double seals of the Western Zhou Dynasty:
(Western triangular and elliptical double seals)
For example, the double circle + triangle seals of the two "gentlemen" in the Spring and Autumn Period:
(Double Circle + Triangular Special-shaped Seal of the Spring and Autumn Period)
Another example is the "Wang Rong Weapons" in the Spring and Autumn Period "Rhombus-shaped seal (currently in the Tianjin Museum):
(Spring and Autumn Period Special-shaped Seal "Wang Bingrong Weapon")
During the Warring States Period, special-shaped seals came in various forms:
p>
(Special-shaped seals during the Warring States Period)
There are square seals with protruding tenon seals, ruler-shaped seals, octagonal seals, shield badge seals, leaf-shaped seals, Mitsubishi fan-leaf seals, There are everything from heart-shaped seals to multi-tenon-shaped seals...
In fact, later generations of sealers also created many unique seal styles, such as gourd-shaped seals, piano-shaped seals, tripod-shaped seals, and bamboo leaf seals. Shape seals, coin-shaped seals, pot-shaped seals, etc. are all suitable and appropriate seal styles as long as they can be elegant and avoid vulgarity. For example, the following seals of famous people:
(Special-shaped seals of famous people)
Note that the so-called seal styles listed above are actually defined by the shape of the seal surface. Let’s talk about it below. In terms of the style of the entire seal, the more special ones include the following categories:
1. The Han and Wei dynasty seals. The belt-threading seal is named after the holes on the left and right that can be used to thread the belt. There are seals engraved on both sides of the seal. Most of them are private seals with names engraved on one side and font numbers engraved on the other, so they are also called "double-sided seals". The style is as shown in the figure:
(Double-sided seals in the Han Dynasty)
p>2. Five-sided printing, six-sided printing or multiple-sided printing. For a five-sided seal, the text is engraved on the front and around the seal, totaling five sides; for a six-sided seal, the sixth side is engraved on the top of the seal. Because there is still room for holding the seal, the sixth side of the seal is generally smaller, and its style As shown in the picture:
(Yan Wei six-sided seal)
This is the very famous "Yan Wei" multi-sided seal, and there is also the very famous "Dugu Xin" multi-sided seal. As shown in the picture:
(Duguxin multi-sided seal)
3. Mother and son seals. Zimu seal, also known as "overprint", first originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty and became popular in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. It is a seal made of two or three square seals (some are four square ones), large and small. The seal text is mostly made of deep and thin inscriptions, usually as Private seal, engraved with name, cousin, etc. On its seal buttons, the mother seals are mostly mother beasts, and the child seals are mostly child beasts. There are also cases where the mother seal button is the animal body and the child seal button is the animal head, which are combined into the shape of the whole animal. For example:
(Three-in-one mother-child seal)
Later generations also had multi-sided nested red sandalwood overprints, which were also private seals. For example, this set of Lei Tie Ya carved red sandalwood for Yamamoto Xiangyun. Overprint:
(Red sandalwood overprint)
In this overprint, the margin is "The Lord of Xiangyun Pavilion has given instructions, Yichou Autumn September, Tieya.", and the seal text is "Xiangyun Pavilion." "Master of the Pavilion", "Xiangyun", "Master of Wolong Hall", "Nothing strange but straightforward", "囗 Floating Clouds", "Seeing a young man who is very interesting", "Xiangyunshanren", "Yamamoto clan", "Xiangyun", " "Yamamoto Quan", "Yamamoto", "Xiangyun", etc., names, restaurant numbers, aliases, auspicious words... are all collected in one set. You only need to take one set with you when you go out. All seals are available, which can be described as ingenuity. Well thought out.
4. Branding the horse. The horse branding seal is a special seal used to brand horses in ancient times and belongs to the official seal category. This large-shaped red seal is made of iron, and the upper part of the seal button has a square hole that can be incorporated into the wooden handle. It is designed to be convenient for burning. For example, here is the famous horse seal of Yan State during the Warring States Period: "Rigeng Du Cui Chariots and Horses":
(Ancient horse branding: Rigeng Du Cui Chariots and Horses)
Branding Horses The seal has distinctive features and unique style, occupying a place in my country's seal art. According to cultural relic research and documentary records, since the Warring States Period, horse marks have been branded in all dynasties.
5. With hook seal. Hook seals first appeared in the Qin and Han Dynasties. Seals were engraved on hooked buttons. Most of them were round, and some were rectangular. This kind of seal was called hook seal. The longer ones were several inches or feet long. The shorter one is about an inch. In fact, there are almost as many kinds of hook seals as there are types of belt hooks, because the words engraved on the belt hook seals are mostly auspicious words or names.