Calligraphy and Paintings Collected by Liuzhou at Xin’an

CHINA; Qing dynasty

Collectors’ seals are used by the owner of an art collection to stamp the works in their possession. This was the collector’s seal of the artist who crafted it, and was specifically used for the calligraphic pieces and paintings he acquired.
The seal consists of 10 characters, widely spaced out within a vertically oriented and rectangular seal format. Engraved in the style of the Zhejiang school, this work of seal art is full of eccentricity with its frayed fringes and thinly carved characters.
Dashou, also known as Liuzhou, was a monk and artist of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). His expertise was in seal engraving, in addition to calligraphy and painting. Like many later dynasty seal engravers, Dashou’s pieces utilize the techniques of the Qin (221–207 BCE) and Han (206 BCE–220 CE) dynasties. The famed Qing scholar Ruan Yuan referred to him as the Monk of Seals. In addition, Dashou was known to be an avid art collector.