Longyou 龍友 means “dragon friend.” Chinese language chop with two red characters from right to left, with two characters looking like three. Image is not to scale.
- Inscription: 龍友
- Pinyin: long you
- Collection: Nancy Friedemann
- Material: (deer) antler
- Carver’s mark: 魯 二0一0
- Size: 2 x 1.7 cm.
- Date: September 2010
- Registry: cs187
The characters start to break up a bit in the center because the antler from which the seal was carved has a soft core and doesn’t take detail well. Deer are a symbol of long life in China, and Chinese dragons are depicted with the horns of a deer.