WESTERN HAN DYNASTY (206 BC-AD 8)

The characters on the seal face of this seal, Yue Li, possibly refer to a name with Yue (also the character for moon) as the surname. According to the Book of Han, the Emperor Wu bestowed the title of Marquis on a person with the surname Yue from the Xiongnu tribe, a nomadic people living north and northwest of China during the Qin and Han dynasties. It is possible the current seal was once owned by a Xiongnu nobleman.