A rare small Baifurong soapstone square seal. Mid-late 17th century. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2012

The top very finely carved with two pairs of archaistic dragons with angular scroll bodies, one pair facing each other, the other pair addorsed and their tails joined by a loop, the flat design reserved on a slightly recessed, leiwen-carved ground, all above a narrow chevron band incorporationg the signature Shangjun in seal script within a cartouche on the front, the luminous stone finely polished and of beige-white color; 15/16 in. (2.4 cm.) high, 7/8 in. (2.3 cm.) square. 

明末/清初 白芙蓉石龍紋方印

Provenance: Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London.

Literature: The Literati Mode, Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, 1986, p. 209, no. 85. 

Notes: Shangjun is the zi of Zhou Bin, a native of Zhangzhou, Fujian province, who was a renowned carver of seal knobs, and is thought to have worked during the mid to late 17th century. For a discussion of Shangjun see, G. Tsang and Hugh Moss, Arts from the Scholar's Studio, Oriental Ceramic Society, Hong Kong, 1986, p. 84, where a pair of baifurong seals, also carved on top with formalized dragons reserved on a leiwen ground, and with an incised signature seal, Shangjun, is illustrated, p. 85, no. 43.

In the Literati Mode, Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, 1986, p. 209, the author, Paul Moss, notes that seals by Jun are quite rare, and compares the seal to another thin seal of similar stone carved with comparable dragon design, which also bears the signature of Shangjun, which is in the author's collection. 

 Christie's. Auspicious Treasures for Scholars and Emperors: Selections from the Robert H. Blumenfield Collection, 22 March 2012; New York, Rockefeller Plaza