I. Square and rectangular seals

The square seal is solemn and generous. Since ancient times, no matter official seal or private seal, it is mostly square. Rectangular seal, the official seal accounts for a small amount, mostly private seal. Such as official seal, poetry seal, auspicious language seal, appreciation seal and introduction seal stamped on the upper corner of calligraphy and painting. Seal engravers like to use rectangles.

Second, round and oval seals

Compared with oval seals and other special-shaped seals, circular seals are relatively standardized. There are fewer circular seals in these two forms, while oval seals are more common in appreciation seals and introductory seals. This kind of seal is unique in that the edge arc of the printed surface is combined with the straight line of the printed text.

Third, special-shaped seal.

Irregular seal is a kind of irregular seal, and its shape and size are not fixed. This kind of seal is usually privately printed.

The earliest special-shaped seals began in the Warring States period, and there were also many special-shaped seals in the ancient bowls of Qin and Han Dynasties. With the continuous development of seal cutting, its shapes tend to be diversified, especially after the prevalence of lithographs. From the Warring States to the present, special-shaped bowls have evolved through the ages, and their shapes mainly include coin-shaped, animal-shaped, continuous ring-shaped, bamboo-leaf-shaped, gourd-shaped, horn-shaped, plum-shaped, chicken-shaped, tile-shaped, equilateral, triangular, right-angled and diamond-shaped, as well as musical instruments, ding, pots, stoves and other shapes.

The production of special-shaped seals should have an intriguing layout, vigorous and powerful font cutting, and solemn and elegant style, otherwise it will easily fall into the stereotype.

Fourth, print with shapes.

Copying printing is developed on the basis of special-shaped printing. This kind of seal, mostly stone, has been used since the Ming and Qing Dynasties. A stone is broken into its favorite shape at will, or carved into a seal with its natural shape in order not to destroy the Shore texture of the raw material. This kind of seal is naturally interesting, so literati, painters and seal engravers always like to carve their own poems, auspicious words, substitute sentences and essays into conformal seals for fun.

Five, double-sided printing

Printing on both sides of a seal is called double-sided printing. Double-sided printing is mostly private printing, which began in Qin and flourished in Han. On the one hand, the surname is engraved, on the other hand, the name is engraved, or on the other hand, the words courtiers, concubines, auspicious, birds, beasts, fish and insects are engraved. There are also double-sided auspicious language printing, double-sided miniature printing, double-sided pattern printing and so on. Most of the seals on both sides are copper, and some are jade. The printed body is very thin, with a rectangular perforation in the middle, which can be worn with a rope and is easy to carry, so double-sided printing is also called tape printing.

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