<p>the seal, my best guess is "敏之":</p>

<p>the left character is 㞢 (u+37a2), a variant of 之 (u+4e4b):</p>

<p><a href="http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E3%9E%A2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=㞢</a></p>

<p>the right character had a left-right structure, the right component is 攴 (攵):</p>

<p><a href="http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E6%94%B4" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=攴</a></p>

<p>unfortunately, the left component is hard to recognise, so "敏" is my guess only.</p>

<p><a href="http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E6%95%8F" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=敏</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-09T01:41:22.860Z
Thank you for all the help! I actually think your guess looks pretty close! I am wondering what this seal would be referencing. Is this a name? I apologize if this is a silly question, I am new to this area.
Kagrenacle
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-09T01:56:59.350Z
Also, is it possible to translate the calligraphy? I understand if it is too difficult or messy.
Kagrenacle
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-09T04:12:02.270Z
most likely, it’s the name of the writer. about the calligraphy, certain characters are not yet recognised, maybe later :)
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-09T09:24:49.723Z
The link you provided about 攴 says that 攵 might be an alternative form of 攴, but there seems to be no evidence for the converse.
Vim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-09T09:29:04.937Z
@Kagrenacle the only characters I can recognise are on the second column, "丁卯年？(illegible)十二月".
Vim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-09T09:33:55.730Z
@Kagrenacle also the last two on the first column might read "時鮮", which usually means "seasonal vegetables/foods". Do you know if the characters are related to these? (For example, is this calligraphy exhibited in a restaurant?)
Vim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-09T09:58:49.233Z
@Vim I own the painting, but the painting next to the calligraphy appears to be of loquats and some kind of fish. So that makes sense to me.
Kagrenacle
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-09T13:35:48.543Z
@Kagrenacle that would be great. In that case I would make a further guess that the entire first (the **rightmost**, for what it's worth) column reads "洞庭時鮮", and the fruits and fish on the painting actually symbolise "seasonal, fresh foods" (literal meaning of "時鮮") obtained from/grown in the DongTing Lake (洞庭湖, the second largest fresh water lake in China).
Vim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-09T00:03:31.883Z
2019-06-09T00:03:31.883Z
水巷孑蠻
<p>I saw this seal recently visiting a friend of mine who collects old paintings and calligraphy in Shanghai. I'm hoping that someone here knows what these characters are. Any help is greatly appreciated!</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/YMXmR.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/YMXmR.jpg" alt="Seal 1"></a></p>

<p>EDIT: Here is the full image, including the calligraphy.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/4xsj9.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/4xsj9.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<characters><character-identification><seal>
Can anyone identify the characters on this seal?
# Can anyone identify the characters on this seal?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-06-08)

I saw this seal recently visiting a friend of mine who collects old paintings and calligraphy in Shanghai. I'm hoping that someone here knows what these characters are. Any help is greatly appreciated!

[![Seal 1](https://i.sstatic.net/YMXmR.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/YMXmR.jpg)

EDIT: Here is the full image, including the calligraphy.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/4xsj9.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/4xsj9.jpg)

**Tags:** characters, character-identification, seal


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-06-09. Score: 0 | Accepted answer

the seal, my best guess is "敏之":

the left character is 㞢 (u+37a2), a variant of 之 (u+4e4b):

[http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=㞢](http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E3%9E%A2)

the right character had a left-right structure, the right component is 攴 (攵):

[http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=攴](http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E6%94%B4)

unfortunately, the left component is hard to recognise, so "敏" is my guess only.

[http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=敏](http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E6%95%8F)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you for all the help! I actually think your guess looks pretty close! I am wondering what this seal would be referencing. Is this a name? I apologize if this is a silly question, I am new to this area.  
> **username_0**: Also, is it possible to translate the calligraphy? I understand if it is too difficult or messy.  
> **username_1**: most likely, it’s the name of the writer. about the calligraphy, certain characters are not yet recognised, maybe later :)  
> **username_2**: The link you provided about 攴 says that 攵 might be an alternative form of 攴, but there seems to be no evidence for the converse.  
> **username_2**: @username_0 the only characters I can recognise are on the second column, "丁卯年？(illegible)十二月".  
> **username_2**: @username_0 also the last two on the first column might read "時鮮", which usually means "seasonal vegetables/foods". Do you know if the characters are related to these? (For example, is this calligraphy exhibited in a restaurant?)  
> **username_0**: @username_2 I own the painting, but the painting next to the calligraphy appears to be of loquats and some kind of fish. So that makes sense to me.  
> **username_2**: @username_0 that would be great. In that case I would make a further guess that the entire first (the **rightmost**, for what it's worth) column reads "洞庭時鮮", and the fruits and fish on the painting actually symbolise "seasonal, fresh foods" (literal meaning of "時鮮") obtained from/grown in the DongTing Lake (洞庭湖, the second largest fresh water lake in China).  

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