How Cool is this! My OWN Chop!!!!

Thanks to my dear friend and pseudo “wee” brother for this wonderful gift!

He, Ian, told me the second part means strong/strength.
He was in China about a year ago when he got this for me.
I love it!

Look for this on up and coming artwork as part of my signature.
Liz StrongChock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The Chinese Chop Art (or seal carving) is one of the traditional four arts, i.e., Chinese painting, calligraphy, poetry and seal carving.

A personal chop in red color is an integrated part of a Chinese artwork of painting or calligraphy, which is not only the signature of the artist on the artwork, but also an essential touch to liven it up.

 

History of Chinese Seal Carvingsby Char4U.com
Chinese seal carvings are an ancient art that combines calligraphy and engraving. Chinese seal carvings, or Chinese name stamps, evolved from a practical need to be able to affix a signature to documents and carvings. But these custom stamps became an art form as well as a practical devise, with its intricate Chinese calligraphy and beautiful carvings.

Chinese seal carving started in ancient Chinese times, during the Qin dynasty (221-210 B.C). The Chinese seal carving was originally used as an imperial seal – a seal used by the emperor to, in effect, put his stamp of approval on documents. The royal seal was called the Xi (which can literally be translated into “the imperial seal”). These Chinese seal carvings were used only by royalty.

After this dynasty, another type of seal developed. This Chinese seal carvings were used for non-official use by private individuals as a personalized stamp. These non-official custom stamps were called Yin. During the Tang Dynasty, (618 – 907 A.D.) the name for the seals changed, in part due to a superstition about the similarity in pronunciation to another Chinese word which meant death, during this period Chinese signature stamps became referred to as Bao.

Read more….

Today Chinese carved seals are still used. Many business people use specially designed seals as their Chinese name stamp, to indicate their reliability as business people and to confirm their identity.

http://www.char4u.com/article_info.php?articles_id=8