The precious orpiment seal Mingxin Juepin [Photo/hangzhou.com.cn]

Mingxin Juepin, a precious orpiment seal carved by master artist Chen Julai (1904-84), was donated by collector Lu Jingqing to the Zhejiang Provincial Museum July 2.

An early Chen masterpiece, the seal was a customized design for Wu Hufan, a leading traditional painter, art connoisseur and collector, who imprinted the seal on many of his favorite paintings and calligraphy works.

The seal is 2 centimeters long and wide and 2.3 cm high, and weighs 15.8 grams. It was carved from rare orpiment materials which were unearthed during the early-to-mid Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It also features an elegant but elaborate design which has its head part decorated with a legendary dragon, a favorite Chinese cultural symbol.

Wu has imprinted the seal on The Remaining Mountain, the first part of Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, one of the greatest and few surviving works of painter Huang Gongwang of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

The Chinese landscape painting was burnt into two pieces in 1650, with the first part kept in the Zhejiang Provincial Museum and the second part, The Master Wuyong Scroll, kept in the National Palace Museum in Taipei.

The seal is imprinted by famous collector Wu Hufan at the top right corner of The Remaining Mountain, the first part of Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains. [Photo/zhejiangmuseum.com]

A close-up of the seal [Photo/zhejiangmuseum.com]