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Chapter Seventy of the Daodejing in Seal Script

Artist/Maker (Chinese, 1799–1870)
Date19th century
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall: 19 1/2 × 44 1/4 in. (49.5 × 112.4 cm)
Frame: 33 × 61 × 2 in. (83.8 × 154.9 × 5.1 cm)
Credit LineR. T. Miller Jr. Fund
Object number1995.8
Status
Not on view
More Information
Wú Xīzài was a calligrapher and seal carver of the late Qīng dynasty. He was a student of Bāo Shìchén 包世臣 (1775–1855), an eminent scholar of ancient writing that evolved from inscriptions carved in stone. Wú was strongly influenced by Bāo’s studies in archaic script forms. He made his contributions to the field as an adherent of the Wǎn 皖 school of seal carving founded by Dèng Shírú 邓石如 / 鄧石如 (1743–1805), a famous Qīng dynasty calligrapher and seal carver.

The choice of the archaic seal script is fitting for a quotation from the classic text Dàodéjīng 道德经 / 道德經, traditionally dated to the 6th century BC.
Exhibition History
Selected Acquisitions, 1991-1995
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (January 20, 1996 - April 18, 1996 )
Chinese Art: Culture and Context
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (January 2, 2002 - June 2, 2002 )
Asian Art and the Allen: American Collectors in the Early 20th Century
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (August 19, 2014 - July 12, 2015 )
The Archaic Character of Seal Script
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (January 24, 2017 - May 21, 2017 )
Collections
  • Asian