Vintage Chinese Hand-Carved Soapstone Snake Seal Stamp. The curling snake form at top is complemented by an image of a snake incised into the side as well, along with tree forms and kanji. On the bottom is the stamp accented in red, with kanji on half and the word "DOLLIE" in English below. 

Size: 3 x 3/4 x 3/4 in. 

The stamp seal (also called an impression seal) is a common seal die, frequently carved from stone, in forms at least since the 6th Millennium BC and probably earlier. The dies were used to impress their picture or inscription into soft, prepared clay and sometimes in sealing wax. The oldest known stamp seals originated in the Indus Valley, and were button-shaped objects with primitive ornamental forms chiseled onto them, replaced in the 4th Millennium BC by cylinder seals that had to be rolled over the soft clay to leave an imprint. Over the following centuries the form spread throughout Asia, Europe, and Africa, with Romans introducing their signaculum around the 1st Century BC in a form still in use to this day. In antiquity the stamp seals were common, largely because they served to authenticate legal documents, such as tax receipts, contracts, wills and decrees, and even with the advent of inkpens and computer technology, the physical manifestation of a sealed contract is considered preferable (or even necessary) in some cultures and social circles. 

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