印章是我国的书法和雕刻相结合的独有的工艺美术。因其所具有的书法艺术属性，与一般的工艺美术略有不同，故又叫作“篆刻艺术”。关于印章的起源，早在春秋中期，印章已应用于社会活动中。从近代考古发现的实物来看，殷商时期就已存在印章了，而战国时期的古印，已经达到相当高的艺术水准。印章的用材，最初以铜、金等金属材料为主，这与当时的印章大多为铸冶而成是分不开的。亦有少量的犀牛、象牙、玉印和石印。

Seals are unique arts and crafts that combine calligraphy and sculpture in China. Because of its calligraphy artistic attributes, which are slightly different from the general arts and crafts, it is also called “seal cutting art”. Judging from the antiques discovered in modern archaeology, seals existed as early as Yin and Shang dynasties. The ancient seals in the Warring States period have reached a very high artistic level. The materials of the seals were initially mainly metal materials such as copper and gold, which is inseparable from the fact that most of the seals at that time were cast and smelted.