Chinese Carved Soapstone Seal with Foo Dog Guardian Lion (Black)

Chinese carved stone seals, known as yìnzhāng, are a traditional art form combining calligraphy and engraving. Used for thousands of years in China and across East Asia, they serve as a personal or official signature on documents, art, and correspondence. The carved stone seal has a body (the main block of stone), handle (the carved head, usually featuring ornate figures or mythical beasts such as foo dogs or dragons), the face (the printing surface where the inscription is carved in reverse so it prints correctly), and the sides which can be engraved with inscriptions or poems.
 
The foo dog is a common handle on Chinese stone seals. These guardian lions symbolize strength, courage, wisdom, good luck, happiness and longevity.
 
This foo dog seal has a ‘red character seal’, or Zhūwén (朱文), which is when an inscription is carved in relief, meaning the characters print in red while the background remains uncolored. We were unable to translate the seal or the inscription on the front of the seal stone. We believe this was made using soapstone as most Chinese carved seals were made of soapstone and other common materials did not match the patterns on the block used here. This one has several scratches and very small chips (see photos) but is otherwise in very good condition.
 
We believe our grandmother inherited this from the Burr sisters who visited China in the 1920s and 1930s. 
 
The Chinese still use seals for many purposes. Non-Chinese today may use these as paper weights, shelf décor, bookends, and in other ways.
 
H 3 1/8” x L 1 1/2” x D 1 1/2”
 
Disclaimer: We have tried to make sure colors shown in photos are representative of the real colors of each item. We have tried to identify all imperfections in descriptions, but we may have missed some. If you are unhappy with your purchase, let us know.