An Analysis of the Seals of the Warring States Period

2024-12-17 06:18

The seals of the Warring States Period had various shapes, materials, and the arrangement of the seals. In terms of shape, the seals of the Warring States Period were varied, including square, round, rectangular, oval, triangular, and other shapes. Among them, most of them were square, accounting for more than 80% of the total. In terms of materials, the seal of the Warring States Period used a variety of materials, including metal, jade, clay, and so on. Among them, copper was the main material, accounting for more than 90% of the total. In terms of the arrangement of the seals, the Warring States seals focused on the structure of a single character, and the overall standard was not as good as that of the Han Dynasty. The printing surface widely used the frame, the frame was wide and matched with the thin raised text, while the intaglionic text added more double columns. There were official seals, private seals, auspicious seals, and Xiao seals. The official seal was the token of the imperial court, while the private seal was mainly used for names and seals. The auspicious seal reflected the beautiful demands of the ancients to pray for blessings. The Xiao seal was mostly engraved with patterns of birds, beasts, dragons and phoenixes. The seal of the Warring States Period had exquisite craftsmanship and various artistic expressions. It had a pure, natural, and unrestrained expression. In general, the seals of the Warring States showed their variety and regional characteristics in terms of shape, material, and arrangement of seals.