Four jade seals, Han dynasty or later | 漢或更晚 玉印 一組四件

Acquired in Hong Kong, 1994-2002.

1994至2002年購於香港

Jade seals of Han dynasty are small in shape so they are easy to carry. Finials can be carved in to shapes of dragon, tiger, turtle, mythical beast, or plain in order to differentiate the ranks. The function of seals in the Han dynasty was not limited to the verification of the owner’s identity, it could also serve as decoration and burial objects. Therefore, many Han-dynasty seals were found with plain seal faces or with unmirrored texts for easy reading. This type of seal is called peiyin, see Zhou Xiaolu, Kaogu Yinshi [Archeology and the History of Seals], Beijing, 2020, p. 234. Compare two Western Han-dynasty jade seals with plain seal faces, illustrated in Shaanxi Chutu Handai Yuqi [Han Dynasty Jades Unearthed in Shaanxi], Beijing, 2009, pls. 9 and 10. 

青玉質，一印白化，素面，一件覆瓦數鈕，三件皆橋鈕，拋光如鏡，皆成覆斗形，四面方正，頂成斜坡，印鈕穿孔。 

漢制璽印皆小巧方正，宜隨身攜帶，鈕有龍虎龜神獸及素面之別，以有等級之差。漢代印璽功能並不局限於徵信凴記，皆有裝飾、陪葬禮器等功能，故而多有素面無文者，即所謂佩印，即便有印文也多見正文而非反文，方便辨識，見周曉陸，《考古印史》，北京，2020年，頁234。參考西安出土兩件西漢玉印，一瓦鈕，一橋鈕，皆素工，見《陝西出土漢代玉器》，北京，2009年，圖版9及10。