Chinese seal carvings are an ancient art that combines calligraphy and engraving. Chinese seal carvings, or Chinese name stamps, evolved from a practical need to be able to affix a signature to documents and carvings. But these custom stamps became an art form as well as a practical devise, with its intricate Chinese calligraphy and beautiful carvings.

Chinese seal carving started in ancient Chinese times, during the Qin dynasty (221-210 B.C). The Chinese seal carving was originally used as an imperial seal - a seal used by the emperor to, in effect, put his stamp of approval on documents. The royal seal was called the Xi (which can literally be translated into “the imperial seal”). These Chinese seal carvings were used only by royalty.

After this dynasty, another type of seal developed. This Chinese seal carvings were used for non-official use by private individuals as a personalized stamp. These non-official custom stamps were called Yin. During the Tang Dynasty, (618 - 907 A.D.) the name for the seals changed, in part due to a superstition about the similarity in pronunciation to another Chinese word which meant death, during this period Chinese signature stamps became referred to as Bao.