The following "General Price Charts" are the basis of Joshua's quote for your order. If you already have the Chinese translation, you may use them to estimate the cost of your order.

 

General Price Charts for Calligraphy

The prices shown here are for custom Chinese calligraphy without backing paper; they do not include other services such as Dry Mounting, Silk Mounting, Custom Scrolls, and applicable S&H. Prices are subject to change. Backing paper is available in Dry Mounting, Silk Mounting, and Custom Scrolls.

 

"Approximate"
Size of Each Character in Inches
(notes) 

Price Per Chinese Character in U.S. Dollars
(for 1 to 10 characters on single piece of paper)

Standard Style

Clerical Style

Walking Style

Running Style

Seal Style

Style
Suggested
by
Joshua

1 x 1 to 2 x 2 

$9

$9

$10

$12

$9

$8

2 x 2 
to 2.5 x 2.5

$12

$9

$10

$10

$9

$8

2.5 x 2.5 
to 4 x 4

$10

$9

$12

$12

$9

$8

4 x 4 
to 5 x 5


$8

This is the default size and style if a customer does not specify.

 

$9

$12

$12

$9

$8

5 x 5 
to 7 x 7

$15

$12

$15

$15

$12

$12

7 x 7 
to 10 x 10

$25

$25

$30

$30

$25

$25

10 x 10 
to 15 x 15

$45

$45

$50

$50

$45

$45

15 x 15 
to 20 x 20

$60

$60

$70

$70

$60

$60

To Further Specify a Sub-Style

Add 50% of the above unit price

Add 50% of the above unit price

Add 50% of the above unit price

Add 50% of the above unit price

Add 50% of the above unit price

N/A


Written in Gold Pigment 

(contain small percentage of real gold)

sample to be added

 

Add 75% Add 75% Add 75% Add 75% Add 75% Add 75%

Written in Red Ink
Click for sample
 		Add 25% Add 25% Add 25% Add 25% Add 25% Add 25%

 

 

If the customer wishes to specify his/her due date, please email and use the following chart to figure out the new price. Otherwise, the artist retains the right to create custom calligraphy within the Standard Process Time (which is currently 3 to 10 business days) in consideration of many technical requirements for each custom work to maintain artistic quality and reputation and fairness to other customers.

 


Custom calligraphy will be completed during the Standard Process Time as promised. If a customer wishes to specify his/her due date, a surcharge of 10% will be added to the original quoted price per one business day faster than the end of Standard Process Time (that it, the 10th business day after payment.)

 

Standard Process Time (S.P.T.)

Currently 3 to 10 business days as listed in FAQ

1 business days before end of S.P.T.

2 business days before end of S.P.T.

3 business days before end of S.P.T.

4 business days before end of S.P.T.

5 business days before end of S.P.T.

6 business days before end of S.P.T.

7 business days before end of S.P.T.

8 business days before end of S.P.T.

Original Price as Quoted

Add 10%

Add 20%

Add 30%

Add 40%

Add 50%

Add 60%

Add 70%

Add 80%

Example:
Order of $100

$110

$120

$130

$140

$150

$160

$170

$180

 

 [#less-spt]

Example: Suppose the customer makes an online payment on Feb. 1 for an amount of $45 plus shipping.

If he does not specifies his due date, the custom calligraphy will be ready by Feb. 15 which is within 3 to 10 business days after payment, regardless of the transaction amount and number of Chinese characters.

If he specifies the custom calligraphy to be created by Feb. 7, which is six business days before Feb. 15, the new price will be $45 x 160% = $72.

If he specifies the custom calligraphy to be created by Feb. 12, which is three business days before Feb. 15, the new price will be $45 x 130% = $58.5.

Please understand I have a day job as a public accountant and have other clients and customers to take care of. 

 

 

If your order is less than 10 Chinese characters (i.e., less than 5 to 12 English words in most cases), 
it is not necessary to read the following.

 

The prices per character are based on technical requirements of each style in different sizes
and are incremental (progressive) as the number of Chinese characters increase on "a single piece of paper."

An order of more than 10 Chinese characters written on multiple pieces of paper will not subject to the following "incremental" charges.

When the number of Chinese characters increases in a work written on the same piece of paper, 
the level of mental concentration and techniques become even more difficult.
Prices in the following "Incremental (Progressive) Price Charts" are based on the above chart.

Incremental Price Charts for 11 to 20 characters on a piece of paper: 
Add 50% of the above unit price per character.
To further specify a specific sub-style, please add additional 50% of the above unit price per character.

 

Incremental Price Charts for 21 to 30 characters on a piece of paper:
Add 75% of the above unit price per character.
To further specify a specific sub-style, please add additional 60% of the above unit price per character.

 

For more than 30 characters on one piece of paper - By commission only - negotiated price for negotiated date of completion.

Notes:

1. While Western calligraphy and computer fonts often pursue font-like uniformity, homogeneity of Chinese calligraphy characters in one size is considered only a craft (not art) by the Chinese people. Thus, Joshua retains the right to write the Chinese characters within 10% differences of the above listed sizes due to artistic perspectives.

While the Running and Walking Styles will vary in sizes more "dramatically" than Standard, Clerical, and Seal Styles, Joshua retains the right to write the Chinese characters within 30% differences of the above listed sizes due to artistic perspectives for the Running and Walking Styles. 

The prices will be based on the "average" sizes of all characters of the whole content.

Larger characters, though technically easier than small characters, will require more time in preparing ink.

2. Additional characters for each recipient's name will be $25 per piece. This is because those characters in smaller sizes are more technically difficult than the main contents of the work (smaller characters are usually more difficult than larger characters due to precision requirement). Joshua retains the right to decide on the position and sizes of those extra characters to conform to the traditional norms which have been established in China for thousands of years. My signatures and seal stamps are free per your request or my suggestion.

3. The unit price per character will increase for each order of more than 10 characters written on a single piece of paper (not per order.) This is because that it becomes even more difficult to write more characters on the same piece of paper and maintain at least the same artistic level. 

An artist should never sell a work that s/he is not satisfied with. A Chinese calligrapher should start all over if s/he is not satisfied even with a stroke. There is no "How to Fix a Mistake" in Chinese calligraphy after each stroke is done. Amending or Retouching (called “Miao 描 ” in Chinese) is considered a "failure" and "dishonest" in Chinese calligraphy. It’s forbidden for all students and calligraphers at all levels. In China, calligraphers, literati, officers, emperors or presidents will lose trust to people if they are found to retouch their brushstrokes in brush writing (not in pen writing) since Chinese people in all walks of life consider very seriously that Chinese calligraphy should be done once and once only directly from one's real skill and heart and should not be done in a painting manner in which a painter can retouch, amend, or change a stroke repeatedly. This is very different from other cultures or arts.

 

The "General Price Charts" apply to all categories of custom Chinese calligraphy except for:
 
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