Several red seals need not all belong to the painter. The useful starting question is whose involvement each mark might record, not how many signatures the artist added.
Artist and collector roles
The Hong Kong Museum of Art distinguishes artist seals functioning as signatures from collector or connoisseur seals recording viewing or ownership. See its explanation of Chinese painting and calligraphy seals.
A qualified museum example
The museum describes a Liang Qingbiao seal on Flower by Chen Chun as suggesting that Liang once owned the scroll. That qualified suggestion is not an independently established ownership finding here. The example appears in the museum discussion.
Authentication limits
Seals alone cannot settle authenticity: the museum notes that genuine works can bear fake impressions, and fake works genuine impressions. Read its authentication cautions before treating a seal as proof.
Return to the artwork record
As an editorial reading method, keep three things separate: the marks you can see, the seal user identified in the museum documentation, and any ownership inference that documentation makes. Retain the artwork title beside your notes so an attribution does not drift from one painting to another.
If the consulted entry does not identify a seal user, write seal user not identified in this entry. This describes a limitation of that record, not proof that the person is unknown elsewhere. If a user is identified but ownership is only suggested, preserve that qualification. A named seal user and an established owner are not interchangeable conclusions.
Source check date: 25 October 2026, based on captured museum text. Recheck the source if its explanation changes or new artwork documentation becomes available. Individual seals in the cover artwork are not identified or translated here.
