Joseph Lo's Studio
Seal EngravingSeal Engraving

Together, seal engraving, Chinese poetry, calligraphy, and painting are known as the Four Excellence (si-jue) of Chinese art. The material used in seal engraving is a special type of stone that is only found in China. It has the texture of soap stone, so the engraver can use an engraving knife to create their work.

Seal engraving requires one's understanding of the seal character and the sense of composition. To engrave is to write with a knife rather than with a brush.

There are different schools of seal engraving. The characters and seal character used in engraving are those of the Qin Dynasty. Before Ming dynasty, most seals were made of jade or bronze. There, the effects of seal characters on a piece of seal stone are always varied. Some artist like to make seal marks resemble those of a metal seal (Han Dunasty seal) while some like to make them more like brush writing (Qing Dynasty seal).

Here are a few examples of my work:

Lo Yau HingLo'sYau Hing
The Studio of Tea and
Books Enjoying
Praying MonkDone Before my
31st Year
A Plum Blossom Seeker

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All the images and contents of this web page, including all background images, are created by Joseph Lo. Copyright (c) 1996-2001. All rights reserved. You must obtain written permission from Joseph Lo before using any images on this site, in any published media including printed press, electronic transmission, and websites.