Don’t Bruise Your Stone
Most soft stone, like that used for seal carving, can be bruised.
Most soft stone, like that used for seal carving, can be bruised.
Someone recently sent pictures of a carving of stampeding horses asking if the stone was shoushan.
The Japanese sometimes cut seal designs into the end of a hard white eraser and use this as a stamp.
“What stone is it?” is one of the most often asked question about Chinese seals.
An elderly Chinese scholar once asked me to cut a seal for him from a stone he had purchased in Taiwan.
You might take it for granted that an expensive stone should be carvable but, as always, it’s buyer beware.
When you buy a seal stone, especially a cheaper stone, you will sometimes find it covered in a layer of wax.