QING DYNASTY, 17TH CENTURY, TWO-CHARACTER ‘SHANGJUN’ MARK
HEIGHT: 7.6CM
The seal is carved from a single pale tan-coloured soapstone. The knop depicts a crouching mythical beast perched on an elevated platform in a style imitating archaic bronzes. The upper section of the pedestal is decorated in shallow relief with confronting birds within a keyfret border. The seal face remains uncarved.
Shangjun is a ‘zi’ for Zhou Bin, one of the predominant soapstone carvers of the 17th Century.
LITERATURE
Arts from the Scholar’s Studio, Hong Kong, 1986, p. 188, Catalogue No. 164
清 壽山石古獸鳥紋印章 「尚均」款
