Seals are often found in opposite corners of a work of Chinese art. By doing so, when someone looks from one seal impression to the other, their eyes travel across the center of the design. In Chinese they are sometimes called “balancing seals.” They’ll usually be in different styles, with one yin (dark background) and one yang (light background. They may also vary visually in shape and size in order to add visual interest.
The calligraphy below, which illustrates this design concept, comes from one of the pavilions in the Lan Su Garden in Portland, Oregon (USA).
