Royal Seal of the Emperor

This seal was made to be used for Emperor Gojong’s handwritten letters which he wrote to request assistance from other nations such as Russia and Italy to hold Japan in check and to support the independence of the Korean Empire at the time when the Japanese invasion of Korea was about to intensify. Although shaped after the traditional royal seal which has a square body with a turtle-shaped holder attached with braided silk string, it was made smaller to meet the standard size of official letters at that time.