QING DYNASTY (1644-1911)
HEIGHT: 7.6CM
WEIGHT: 93.5G
The seal is of rectangular section, with the flat top crisply carved with two
archaistic kui dragons, their bodies depicted in angular scrolls enclosing a
Shangjun mark 尚均 in archaic script. The upper edge of the seal is bordered by
a continuous frieze of keyfret. The seal face reads Hang Wude 杭武德 (“Hang of
Martial Virtue’’). The stone is of an even translucent white tone. The fitted box
and cover is made of buffalo horn.
Hang 杭 is a surname which transcribes to ‘Van’, referring to the British naval
officer Edward Westby Vansittart (1818-1904). The two characters Wude 武德
express reverence to him who would possess martial virtue.
The top of the seal is carved with a Shangjun 尚均 mark, which is the personal
name (zi 字) of Zhou Bin 周彬, a revered soapstone carver active in the Kangxi
period. A pair of white jade seals, also bearing Shangjun marks and attributed to
Zhou Bin, is illustrated in Arts from the Scholar’s Studio , Hong Kong, 1986, pp.
84-85 Catalogue No. 43.
PROVENANCE
Edward Westby Vansittart (1818-1904), England
| 清 | 尚均款壽山石夔龍紋長方印 |
| 印文：杭武德 |
