~ Chinese calligrapher and painter Ngan Siu-Mui's Seal Carving Art~
In China, the engraving on stones may be pictures or Chinese characters; in other words, there are Name Seals [姓名印], Leisure Seal [閒印], Studio Seal [齋館印] and Similar Image Seals/Pictorial Seals [肖形印] The earliest known records of Similar Image Seals date back to the Warring States [戰國] (476-221 B.C.). The images were mainly animals and human figures. While the practice of engraving images has continued since then, it is the carving of characters, and more specifically seal script characters, that dominate the art of seal carving. Due to curiosity, seals may sometimes be designed in Clerical script, running script and other scripts.
Note:
the dimensions of the carved stones vary. In order to appreciate the composition and the skill of the artist, the pictures have been enlarged somewhat.