Wang Mian 王冕 (1287-1359) was born in Zhuji, Zhejiang province and was most famous as a painter of plum blossoms. He is credited with being the first artist to carve his own seals from stone.
“Liu Ji wrote in his Record of Light Snow: ‘No one used Huayao Stone to carve seals until Mountain Farmer. Mountain Farmer carved seals in Han style, and the seals looked very antique.’ Huayao Stone, also called Yela Stone, was a kind of stone produced in Xiaoshan, Zhejiang Province.” [“Although archaeological evidence suggests that soapstone was used for seals as early as the Han dynasty.”]
For more information on the life of Wang Mian see his Wikipedia entry.
The age of the seals shown below partially accounts for their rough look.
- Pinyin: Wáng Miăn
- Wade-Giles: [Wang Mien]
- Also known as: Fan Niuweng; Kuaiji Waishi; Meihua Wuzhu; Yuanzhang 元章; Zhushi Shannong (Chu-shih Shan-nung) 煮石山農 “Mountain Farmer of Boiling Stone”
