Seal (Object)

Small seal with a snake on top and the character for snake 巳 in seal script on the bottom. It is part of a set of twelve tiny metal seals representing the 12 zodiac signs, however the seal for rat 子 is missing. The tops of the seals feature one of the zodiac animals while the bottom is an archaic form of the Chinese character for the animal. This form is also known as seal script since it is often used to sign and seal paper documents and paintings.