TIBET, MONGOLIA, CHINA, 14TH-19TH CENTURY

The present groups of seals are of assorted origin. A number of these seals are composed in Phakpa (Tib. phags pa) or Horyig script—the decorative lettering created by Imperial Preceptor and Sakya hierarch, Chogyel Phakpa (1235-1280) to unify the various written languages of the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368), still utilized by Tibetans (Fig. 1). Others are Tibetan words or auspicious symbols and stylized Chinese characters (Fig. 2 and Fig. 3). One appears to be in an archaic Central Asian language (Fig. 4).