This issue will conclude Sinorama's Chinese Seals series by touching upon methods of cutting and casting, inscriptions on the side of a seal, and inks.
Depending on their material, seals may be cast or carved. Ancient metal seals were usually cast, using lost wax or founding techniques. Metal seals could also be carved when time did not allow for the lengthy casting process, but these seals tended to be rougher and less refined.
The lost wax process involves carving the seal in wax and coating it with a thick pastelike material. When this dries into a hard shell, the wax is replaced by molten metal. The founding method involves using a finished seal to make an earthen sectional mold, into which the metal is poured.
In later times when materials changed, most seals were carved. Carving jade, a particularly hard stone, required a skilled craftsman. Softer ivory and wood could be carved by the same artist who designed the characters, making for more exquisite calligraphic style than in the jade seals.
Chinese seals often have inscriptions carved onto the side of the seal's base. These were originally limited to the artist's signature and date, but eventually the scholar's comments or poetry were added. Sometimes extending all around the base of the seal, profuse side inscriptions were popular in the Ming and Ching dynasties.
Indispensable to the use of a seal is a rich, pastelike ink. The earliest Chinese inks were made of mineral pigments mixed with water and honey. Honey helped prevent the pigments from fading.
Today's inks are made from oil, pigment and the moxa herb, which gives the ink a thick consistency. Castor and vegetable oils are most frequently used. While they may be mixed with a variety of colored pigments, vermilion is the most universal. Coral, pearl and gold powders are sometimes added to give the ink a brilliant luster.
Fine side inscriptions and exquisite inks can only add to the enjoyment of a masterfully wrought seal.
(Jill Ardourel)
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