In Yunnan's Longling mountains, the Chinese found a stone they named after a dragon — *huanglongyu*, Yellow Dragon Jade — a quartz jade coloured by iron into the exact shade of imperial gold. Polished, it is warm to the eye and translucent to the light, the kind of stone that makes a room feel sunlit even on a grey day. This seal is a square block of that stone: 7 by 7 cm and 15 cm tall, cut clean and even, its yellow uniform from base to top, its edges softly rounded, its surface smooth as polished wax. Set on a dark hardwood base carved with openwork scrollwork, it stands 19 cm tall and weighs a solid 2.05 kg. In a scholar's study it is a seal waiting for a name; on a shelf or side table it is simply a block of light. The square form is the classic shape of the Chinese seal — the mark of a name, a motto, a wish — and even uncarved, it carries that meaning: stability, order, permanence. > > *"A square of sunlight, cut for the hand, kept on the desk."* A handsome piece of contemporary Chinese lapidary work — for collectors of Asian decorative stone, lovers of scholar's objects, or anyone who wants a block of imperial yellow in the room.