Anyone Read Chinese? Backwards?

[RW]

Still not sure what exactly this item is but 90% sure it is a wax seal stamp. Could be an ink stamp, but if so it was never used. Does not have any wax on it or smell to it either. Most likely was just used as a trinket on a shelf until my wife picked it up for a quarter or maybe free sometime, somewhere during garage sale season last year. It appears to be carved from bone, possibly antler and going I'm with Chinese because of the dragon but really not sure about that either. Anyway here are a couple pics I just snapped hoping someone might be able to translate or make a positive identification.

 

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[jeff of pa]

If your sure it is Just Backwards.

Here it is Flipped Horizontal

 

[RW]

I don't know... if it IS a seal, it would have to be in reverse right?
Thanks for the flip. Could be upside down too haha!

If your sure it is Just Backwards.

Here it is Flipped Horizontal

View attachment 1622553

 

[jeff of pa]

Upside down & Horizontal



Just Upside down

 

[jeff of pa]

that Should Make it easier for Someone Who can Read it.

I don't think it's sideways

Also I wouldn't rule out Korean.

 

[RW]

Someone will come along and say it is 90 degrees off! JK!
I don't have a clue how to feed those symbols into any kind of translator...
Thanks!

 

[HuntinDog]

Your first flipped image is orientated correctly.

Sorry I can't translate it, just know how it should look.
It should be a name or business and can be very hard to translate.

 

[RW]

Thanks HuntinDog, getting closer haha!

What's the story on the pistol in your avatar? I found a 1902 Iver Johnson hammerless .38 revolver in similar condition about 10 years ago. Mine was buried in gravel at the edge of lake and turned into a big conglomerate of stone that I had to chisel out. Reminds me of "The London Hammer" found near me in Glenrose, TX. They say "it must be thousands of years old to be embedded in limestone..." but I see it all the time with common items around 50 years old at the lakes around here.

 

[Rookster]

I was an interpreter for years and it says,#<>@*!([÷×)#$]**÷:_. Hope that helps.

 

[RW]

I guess it is true that the first words anyone learns in a new language are always curse words! Special stamp for tax time maybe?

 

[mick56]

Since Chinese is read from right to left, you need to flip the picture back, and then hold it up to a mirror, and snap a pic.

 

[hiddengem]

I can do some translation for you.

These 4 characters are: 军机大臣

It's the official title of the Ministers operating the Military Information Cabinet (a department established after a civil way in 1724) in Qing Dynasty.

This was an office similar to today's Defence Secretary or Minister of Defense (though there were 6 of them working together in that Cabinet of Qing Dynasty), and if this piece of stamp is genuine... expect to trade it for a real fortune. :-)

But how likely it is?

Let's see how a typical offical governmental stamp would usually look like:


It has to be square, and the characters will usually use oracle style.

The "animal" on the top of this stample is neither a tiger or a dragon symbolizing authority and power, but a legendary figure of "Pi Xiu" in Chinese myth which mainly "attracts fortune".

The last but most important thing is that these 4 characters are in Simplified Chinese, which was introduced systematically only after 1949. In Qing Dynasty, Traditional Chinese was used and these 4 characters will appear like: 軍機大臣. So, the biggest chance is...

As a linguist from the ACE CHINESE TRANSLATION, glad to help out with language things.

 

[hiddengem]

One more thing to add:

To my understanding, there won't be a seal named "Minster of the Military Information Cabinet". If there is an official seal, it would only the seal for the office/cabinet itself, which would read "軍機處".

Anyway, this little item can still be a nice beautiful decoration on your book shelf or writing desk, right?