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A seal carrying a phrase rather than a name.
Also known as: Leisure seal, Mood seal
A Chinese seal carrying a motto or a phrase instead of a name, impressed on a painting or a piece of calligraphy as commentary.
Identifies nobody, which is what separates it from a name seal and what makes it hard for a reader to interpret: the phrase may be a line of poetry, a studio name or a private joke, and its placement on the work is itself compositional.
Contexts: History
A small rectangular impression of carved characters in red, frequently taller than it is wide, placed at a corner or along an edge rather than beside a signature.
The name seal used alongside this one.