Dimensions: Height 4,5 cm Wide 6 cm Depth 6 cm

Weight: 508 grams

A solid cast Chinese bronze seal of square form, the seal face carved with a dense, archaic labyrinth pattern composed of angular, interlocking lines, derived from ancient taotie and thunder-scroll (leiwen) motifs. The reverse is fitted with a tall rectangular loop handle, flanked by vertically incised Chinese characters identifying the owner or official function of the seal. The bronze surface displays a deep, mottled brown patina with areas of mineral encrustation, consistent with considerable age and long burial. Such seals were used as marks of authority and authentication in administrative, legal, and ritual contexts, and examples of this type are characteristic of the Han dynasty’s continuation and reinterpretation of earlier Zhou-period seal traditions.