The seal chop characters are two verses from a Song poem which may be translated as: 'As hair is lost, it is more difficult to cover one's head in old age; thus with an open mind, there is no need to keep anxiety in store'.

From the inscription on the vertical side, this present seal was first carved by Su Xiaomin, and it was recarved again in the cyclical Wuyin year, corresponding to 1938, by the well-known artist Wang Ti (1880-1960), whose hao or style name is known as 'Fuan'.

The two characters Shangjun denotes the master carver of seals who was known to be active during the early Qing dynasty although no definitive work by the artist is known. For a tianhuang seal also with an incised inscription by Wang Ti, offered in the present sale see lot 1880.