Seals are part of epigraphy and have a long history. Does the official seal have collection value? Below is the collection value of the official seal that I have compiled for you. I hope it is useful to you.
The value of official seal collection
Our country’s feudal dynasty government system consisted of the imperial court, the central government and local governments. Official seals include the emperor's royal treasures, jade seals and gold treasures, official seals of all levels of court officials, local administrative official seals, official seals of all levels of institutions, official seals of military agencies, seals of low-level institutions, seals of feudal lords' separatist regimes, and ethnic minority regimes. The seal of the peasant uprising regime.
The grade differences in the size and material of official seals have been followed since ancient times. The level of officials is mainly distinguished by the size and material of the official seal. The higher the official position, the greater the official seal, and the greater the power. The size of the imperial treasure is the highest among the hundred officials, and is more than twice the size of the imperial seal of the Three Divisions, Three Dukes, Princes, and Shangshu, which is second to the imperial power, indicating the supremacy of the imperial power. The emperor's imperial treasures were of two kinds: gold and jade. Since the Qin Dynasty, the emperor's seal has been uniquely called Xi, which is made of jade. Jade cannot be used for other seals. This was the beginning of the restriction of material levels in the seal system, which lasted almost to the end of China's feudal society.
The official seal style has experienced the transition from simplicity to complexity, and then from complexity to simplicity. The initial ones are nose buttons and wa buttons. The printed ones are small in size and light in weight. They can be tied with a rope and are easy to carry. Subsequently, there are many kinds of buttons such as chi tiger, dragon, turtle, lion, fish, snake, ostrich, horse, cow and beast. The emperor's royal treasure is the Chihu Niu, and the official seal of ethnic minorities is mostly the Ostrich Niu. Since the Song Dynasty, the style of the imperial treasure's buttons has been changed from the previous Chihu button to the Panlong button. After that, all imperial treasures were custom-made with dragon buttons until the end of the Qing Dynasty, while other official seal button styles were all simplified into prong buttons and column buttons.
The ancient Chinese seal writing method was dominated by small seal and Yin characters before the Sui and Tang Dynasties. The arrangement of seal characters was loose and irregular. From the Sui and Tang Dynasties, seal script Yang script was adopted. The layout of the seal text emphasized symmetry and the number of characters in the columns was equal. If the name of the official institution contained an odd number that was not divided into equal parts, the character "?" was added before the word "print". Make up an even number or an odd number divided equally. When individual characters with few strokes were put into the seal and written in seal, more twists and turns were exaggerated, which pioneered the nine-fold seal script, making the seal appear compact, symmetrical, neat and beautiful. Inscriptions on official seals were first seen in Sui seals, but it was not until the Song Dynasty that engravings on official seals became more common. The back of the coin is engraved with the casting mechanism and casting time. The casting mechanism is engraved on the back of the seal on the left side of the button, and the casting time is engraved on the back of the seal on the right side of the button. Some year names have too many characters to be accommodated on the right side, so part of them is moved to the left side and carved together with the casting mechanism. In addition to the casting institution and casting time, the official seal of the ethnic minority regime? Jin Dynasty also has Jurchen characters and Chinese characters indicating affiliation on the left side. The official seal of the Yunnan Hui uprising regime does not have the name of the casting institution engraved on the back, but only the casting time, the purpose and significance of the uprising, and the document number on the side.
When collecting official seals, you should pay attention to its button style, material, scale, seal and seal cutting style, etc. These are the main factors that determine the price. Nowadays, there are many imitations filling flea markets all over the country. The production cost is only a few dozen yuan, and the asking price can reach hundreds or thousands of yuan. Collectors must pay attention. Prospects for the collection of official seals
Royal seals are undoubtedly the most valuable type of ancient seals, but they are rare for ordinary collectors. Experts point out that in the current market environment, ancient official seals not only have multiple values ??and are easy to identify, but because they have not attracted widespread attention, they are at a low market price and have great room for appreciation in the future.
The market price of royal seals is high
In June this year, a seal used by Emperor Kangxi sold for 4.7 million euros (approximately 49.91 million euros) at an auction in Toulouse, France. The high price (RMB) set a world record for this type of auction in one fell swoop. This square seal is light brown, 14 cm long, 10 cm wide, and weighs about 3,000 grams. It has 6 red Chinese characters and two dragons playing in auspicious clouds. It is one of the 130 personal seals used by Emperor Kangxi during his lifetime. one.
Li Yanjun, deputy director of the Art Appraisal Committee of the Ministry of Culture and dean of the School of Cultural Relics of Peking University School of Natural Resources, told the "World News" reporter that in terms of seals in a broad sense, the emperor's imperial seal should be the most precious one. , followed by the seals of princes and kings.
At present, the royal seals of the Ming and Qing Dynasties have reached very high prices in the market. In addition to the aforementioned Kangxi seal, it is not uncommon for other imperial seals to fetch high prices at auction. For example, a posthumous treasure of Empress Wen of the Ming Dynasty empress Wen and empress Xu of Yongle Emperor with about half of the damage was auctioned in Hong Kong for more than 3 million Hong Kong dollars; a jasper interlocking dragon imperial seal of Emperor Qianlong? Wanquanzhuang treasure? At a Christie's auction in Hong Kong, it was sold for 4.37 million yuan; in 2003, a Kangxi Imperial Jasper Seal also sold for 6.6 million yuan.
Ancient official seals have not yet attracted attention
Although the value of royal seals is well known, due to their very rarity, for ordinary collectors, they are rare. Moreover, due to the high market price of royal seals, it is not easy for ordinary collectors to acquire them. So, in the increasingly hot seal collection market, what kind of seal collection will achieve greater investment returns? Mr. Li Yanjun believes that the most valuable investment value should be the official seals of governments at all levels in ancient times.
According to Li Yanjun, the materials used in ancient official seals include copper seals, jade seals, wood seals, etc. What is not well known to most novice collectors is the wooden official seal. Wood seals are usually made of sandalwood and boxwood. Boxwood has the property of not cracking after drying.
Li Yanjun told the "News of the World" reporter that the reason why ancient official seals have greater room for appreciation is as follows:
First of all, official seals are much easier to collect than imperial seals. For example, the Xixia leader's seal, the army's seal, the ten thousand households' seal, and the Dutong's seal can all be seen among the people. On the other hand, as a kind of certificate for the exercise of power by state agencies, although the overall number of official seals is huge, the ones that have survived to this day are far from being "overrun".
Secondly, official seals not only have calligraphy, sculpture and material value, but also can be used to study social politics, economy, folk customs, and even the evolution of ancient characters.
Thirdly, there are not many fake official seals on the market now, and it is relatively easy to identify official seals. Li Yanjun said that ordinary official seals have not attracted widespread attention, and large copper seals are rarely seen in auction houses. The counterfeiting and counterfeiting of commodities have a basis, that is, the more popular they are, the easier it is to counterfeit them.
Finally, and very importantly, the private transaction price of ordinary official seals is now very low, with great potential for appreciation. For example, in the past two years, the cost of a Dutong Seal was probably 10,000 to 20,000 yuan, or even several thousand yuan. ?In addition, the price of large copper seals is also very low. Many official seals from the Song Dynasty and Jin Dynasty do not exceed 100,000 yuan.
From another perspective, this also makes fake official seals rare. Because only high-priced things will attract people to make counterfeit goods. The price of ordinary official seals is not high, so they will not attract the interest of counterfeiters.
Li Yanjun mentioned that seal identification has its own special features due to different materials. It is difficult to say that a single seal expert can solve all problems. ?For example, for a wooden seal, you need to find an expert in wood furniture; for a jade seal, you need to find an expert in jade; if it is a copper seal, you need to find an expert in bronze or ancient coins. ?
Taking the identification of copper seals as an example, we must refer to the identification methods of bronzes and coins, and judge from the rust color, corrosion degree, patina and casting process. In addition, identification can also be carried out based on the shape of the seal itself, the engraved text, the edge, etc. How to collect official seals
For novice seal collectors, due to lack of experience, the first impression after seeing the seal is very important. Traces of friction, playing, and use will be reflected on the old seal; the imitation ancient seal will be uniform in color, rigid, and unnatural.
Secondly, do not pursue seals of famous celebrities, famous models, or famous materials. You should start with ordinary seals, accumulate experience, increase your ability to distinguish, and then gradually improve your appreciation and purchase level.
Third, pay attention to accumulating seal knowledge, keep basic seal information around you, such as seal cutting dictionaries, seal manuals, etc., and have a basic understanding of seal styles, seal materials, etc.
Fourth, look at the age. The older the seal, the higher its collection value.
Fifth, look at the appearance. Seals are very particular about their appearance, requiring clear words and pictures and undamaged edges. Seals with cracks, mold, holes and other defects will be greatly inferior in value. In addition, the value of handed down seals is generally higher than that of unearthed seals.
Sixth, look at the printing process. The exquisite craftsmanship of the seal button will increase the appreciation and artistry of the seal, thereby affecting the value of the seal.
Seventh, look at the use. According to the style and content of the seal, it can be divided into name seal, idiom seal, year number seal, collection seal, Zhaiguan seal, riddle seal, etc. Generally speaking, collection stamps, Zhaiguan stamps, and riddle stamps are worth more than ordinary famous stamps or idiom stamps