Seal (stamp) cutting (篆 刻) is a traditional Chinese art form blending calligraphy and carving. It's history dates back 3700 years to oracle bones inscriptions. In the Spring and Autumn Period, seal cutting gradually became a specialized skill with the appearance of the seal. Seal script (篆書) from the Qin Dynasty is style of writing most often used by artists today.
This piece 1/1 piece titled "十二教子图" is a chart containing twelve ways of educating children handed down from ancient China. The red seals are the seal script, while the black are called the "margin", and give extra information to help explain the characters.
Each seal is hand carved from stone by artist Mear. This is one of her areas of expertise. She began learning seal cutting as a child from her father, who is a renowned traditional artist. The title is her hand written calligraphy.
-