36 Chambers Seal

This seal by Lu Kesi was commissioned by the Wu-Tang Clan (the American hip hop group) as one of five seal designs for use on their 36 Chambers clothing line.

A Chinese-language seal in white characters with “36” from top to bottom on the right and the character for “chambers” on the left. Based on a design from the Chinese Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) in the shape of a coin (a square within a circle). The outer circle represents the heavens (think sun and moon) and the inner square represents the earth (with its four directions), with mankind bridging the two—an auspicious symbol. It’s always good fortune to have lots of coins!

Note: this image is copyrighted by 36 Chambers and cannot be used without their permission.

• Inscription: 三十六 [x]
• Pinyin: sanshiliu [x]
• Collection: Wu-Tang Clan
• Material: Chinese stone
• Size: 2.4 cm. diameter
• Date: 2017
• Registry: cs355