Great Ease (Da zi zai)

This rectangular seal is made from translucent yellow-green soapstone with irregular markings in varying shades of gray. The bottom shows red stains from making impressions with red seal paste; the top is also tinted red, probably from contact with the stained interior of its storage box. The legend of the seal, “Great Ease” (Da zizai 大自在) , is carved in relief with evenly spaced lines of consistent width that are characteristic of seal script calligraphy. Each of the seal’s four sides is incised with a grid of four columns and 19 lines, which the artist has filled with a carved standard-script transcription of the Heart Sutra.