A Large Chinese Carved Stone Seal with Double Dragons

20th century, possibly jade, rectangular in form, surmounted with a pair of very finely carved dragons in high relief facing outwards, a hole is drilled in the center for holding a silk tassel, the underside bears a four character inscription in archaic seal script bordered at the top and bottom with pairs of chilong dragons.


3 1/4 x 4 1/2 x 2 3/4 in.

From the Collection of Adrienne and John C. Maxwell, Jr. John C. Maxwell Jr. assembled one of the most distinguished private collections of Asian art in the American South, with a particular focus on Chinese, Korean, and Japanese works spanning antiquity through the late imperial period. A financier and respected market analyst by profession, Maxwell developed his interest in Asian art during his military service in Korea in the early 1950s. What began as personal study evolved into a lifelong commitment to collecting, scholarship, and connoisseurship.

The collection formed by Maxwell and his wife Adrienne reflects Maxwell’s highly analytical eye and preference for works possessing strong historical character, refined craftsmanship, and clear cultural significance. Numerous objects from the collection together with their private library of 1,200 scholarly Asian art journals and books were gifted to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, where they became part of the museum’s Maxwell East Asian Collection.

A modern reproduction in the style of imperial carved stone seals from the Qing dynasty such as the Jade Seal with Two Dragons (02.18.464a,b) in the Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Imperial Jade Dragon Seal carved during the Qianlong period with the seal face executed during the Guangxu period at Sotheby's, New York, Lot 608, September 19, 2023.

Very good condition.