5 To appeal to tourists, both Western alphabet and Chinese characters may be incorporated into a single seal done and in a combination of relief and intaglio styles of carving. It is not uncommon for a seal maker to make seals in pairs, one in each style. Chinese characters executed in relief are referred to as yang (阳)-style script and conversely, those done in intaglio are referred to as yin (阴)-style scripts. In intaglio, characters are etched out instead, producing uncoloured characters on coloured background when stamped. In relief, the background is etched out, producing coloured text on uncoloured background when stamped. A Chinese seal can be produced in relief or in intaglio. A sample book of designs may be offered to help the customer explore options. Once the customer has selected a seal, the engraver decides on a design in consultation with the customer. Some seals also have pre-carved designs featuring an animal, human figure, fruit or a flower on their holders. They also come in various sizes and shapes such as square, round and oblong. These seals, imported from China, are available in a variety of materials such as ivory, stone, horn and wood. The seal carving process begins with the customer selecting a seal from the seal maker’s assortment of blank seals. They are also used in Chinese calligraphy and artworks, and in the printing of talismans. They functioned as company chops – the word “chop” is derived from the Hindi word chap, which means company stamps or trademarks) – or personal seals to verify the validity of documents. 2 Seals were used for commercial, legal, artistic and religious purposes. The use of seals dates back to ancient China, and the art of seal carving was brought to Singapore by the early Chinese immigrants.
#SEAL MAKER SINGAPORE VERIFICATION#
By the early 1980s, however, the trade and profession had gone into decline as the signature and other methods of verification began replacing seals as means of authentication. Many seal carvers set up their businesses in Chinatown. Seal carving was a lucrative trade in the past as seals were used in Chinese business transactions to authenticate the validity of documents. Chinese seal carvers are traditional craftsmen who make Chinese seals by carving characters and designs onto the base of blocks of stone, wood, ivory, jade and other solid material.
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