These are my two chops, or name seals, that I had made when I lived in China. One is lapis lazuli, and I believe the other may be agate. "Every Chinese person possesses a seal with his first and last name on it that serves as his signature. The seal made its appearance more than three thousand years ago....The development of this art was a very slow one. In fact, it only really began to flourish at the end of the Mongol dynasty of the Yuan,....Seals naturally became decorative objects that were very prized by painters and calligraphers, who used them to identify and embellish their works. It is unthinkable for a work of Chinese painting or calligraphy to be presented without impressions of one, two, or several of the author's seals." (Between Heaven and Earth: A History of Chinese Writing).