Master Craftsman
For over four decades, working in Penang, Malaysia, master craftsman Ng Chai Tiam has employed the art of Chinese seal engraving, having carved countless traditional Chinese stone seals for businessmen, traders and calligraphy artists as a signature on official documents and works of art.
Seal carving requires choice materials like metal, jade, animal teeth and horns, pottery, bamboo, fruit-pits, and stones. A good material should feel slippery, smooth, cool at first but warm after a second; when cut, it should have certain flexibility. Qingtian stone, Tianhuang stone, Balin stone and ‘chicken’s blood stone’ (Jixue shi) are all first-class materials among stones used for seal cutting. Tianhuang stone features its translucency; ‘chicken’s blood stone, the red dapples. These are available for viewing in his shop.
Chinese Seals Deep Cultural Roots
To the Chinese, seals are an art of deep cultural roots which combines the essence of both calligraphy and engraving. It is believed that seals came about as early as 8,000 years ago, and are assumed as ways to mark and identify personal possessions to prevent theft.
When the first dynasty was established, the king began to use seals to empower and to show lordly credits. Only the king’s special seal was then called ‘Xi’, which represented the highest authority. The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, had his ‘Xi’ made out of the invaluable and beautiful jade ‘Heshi Bi’. This was soon followed governments officials who used seals for a similar function.
Simultaneously, private seals were carved in a variety of auspicious characters and vivid animal patterns. Gradually the sphragistics came into being, and are now favoured by many collectors world-wide.
The heyday of seal history was during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties, periods when the feudal arts flourished. As wash paintings thrived, artists stamped their seal on the ‘xuan,’ a special kind of high quality paper used for painted scrolls in order to identify themselves and to add to add interest to their work. Various sects became known for carving, erected by noted seal cutting sculptors.
Signature Chinese Seal
In 2017, I approached Mr. Ng and asked if he would do a special engraving of a Chinese chop that I had in mind. After a few suggestions, he agreed and immediately started working to create the design concept. The results is displayed here.
Inscriptions & Meanings
The wording on the chop is engraved in ancient Chinese script. It contains my full given name (Terry Nelson Randolph), my Chinese name (傅懷哲, Fu Huai Zhe (Taiwan), consulting (Prallagon), and a religious symbol of the Baha’i Faith.
Father of Seal Engraving
The title, “Father of Seal Engraving” definitely belongs to Wen Peng, the son of Wen Zhenming, one of China’s most famous calligraphers and painters. The charm of Wen Peng’s engraving lay in the dainty mellowness of the cut and the elegant, flying characters. Although a master of his craft, what makes him the ‘Father of Seal Engraving’ was his ingenuity in introducing a longer lasting more durable material for seals. One day, the story goes, Wen Peng met an old man selling stones for women’s headdress. The man was having a difficult time selling the stones; potential buyers had all proposed unreasonably low prices. When Wen Peng saw the stones, it suddenly occurred to him that they could be used as seals. He bought the stones at a high price, helping the old man out of his predicament. When he returned home, he cut the stones with great strength, producing the most delicate of seals. The first stone seal emerged. [Up] until that time, seals had been made of bronze or pottery. Another noted seal engraver was He Zhen of the late Ming Dynasty. He used the graver steadily and neatly with strength and vigor, and the curves of each character were quite clear and harmonious. His works stopped the vogue of affectation and influenced the engravers of the Qing Dynasty.
Four Seasons Hotel Hangzhou at West Lake, China
Chinese Symbol of Power and Forms of Art
Know About Chinese Seal Stones
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Seals were used well over 3,000 years ago in China to authenticate official documents. They continued to be used throughout Chinese history, acting as a signature for documents, but also in paintings and calligraphies. In such artworks, one would find the seal chop of the artist or calligrapher, as well as the seals of the owner(s) of the artwork. Click again to learn more >>.
Traditional Chinese Carving Patterns for Signature
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Online dictionary of Chinese, Japanese & Asian seal carving patterns for Oriental signature & name Seals to sign Calligraphy & Sumi artworks. Article by Lulu Wang on Pinterest. Click again to learn more>>.
Seal Carving - Wikipedia
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At Auction - Chinese Emperor Seals
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Hong Kong’s Marquee Spring Auctions. Sotheby’s has revealed its star lots for the upcoming Chinese works of art sale. Three Chinese imperial seals that embodied some of the most history-defining moments of Ming and Qing dynasties will go on the auction block on 22 April 2021, collectively estimated at HK$230m (US$29.6m). By: Crystal Wong. 26 Mar, 2021. Click again to learn more>>.
Chinese Qing Dynasty Porcelain Marks
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Chinese porcelain marks come in many different forms. Many marks are honorific, looking back to an earlier period in Chinese porcelain production that at the time was viewed as more desirable. Marks on Chinese porcelain pieces most commonly display the dynasty and the reign during its time of production. Click again to learn more>>.
Note that in 2009, the Art of Chinese Seal Engraving was inscribed on the United Nations Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.Watch the video below on the art of engraving.
A Royal Seal of Emperor Kangxi – Qing Dynasty
A seal of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) auctioned in France. VCG Photo.