gems, jade, China, archaic jade, nephrite, amphibole jade

This research examines the jade pendant sets found in Western Han Dynasty tombs, specifically focusing on those discovered in Xuzhou. Despite the challenge of incomplete archaeological records due to past plundering, the study identifies patterns and typologies of jade artifacts associated with the burials of high-status individuals. By analyzing historical texts such as the biography of Huo Guang from the Hanshu, the paper reconstructs the potential arrangements and significance of these jade pieces, linking them to ancient burial practices that reflect social status and cultural values of the time. The book contains eleven papers given at a conference held by the Fitzwilliam Museum in 2012 to discuss the dramatic discoveries from the tombs of the Han kings of Chu and Nanyue.

gems, jade, Chinese jade, archaic jade, nephrite

On June 8, 2014, in its inaugural exhibition, the Heritage Museum of Asian Art in Chicago had a rare opportunity to exhibit the Feng Wen Tang Susan Chen" Collection of Archaic Jades and Agates. This exquisite collection consisted of more than 100 pieces spanning the Neolithic period to the Song Dynasty. The range of ritual jade objects include axes, dagger axes, plaques, blades, pendants, ornaments, rings, and collared discs, as well as a rare jade face mask. The early agates date from the Warring States to the Six Dynasties periods, and include sword fittings, buckles, plaques, pendants, beads, ornaments and utensils. This collection was assembled by Susan Chen, who had a lifelong love affair with Chinese art."

gems, jade, Chinese scholar’s rocks, scholar’s studio

VSANA: This grand, large format, 12 x 15 inch (30.5 x 38 cm) volume is more than an art book featuring stones. The stunning images by award winning photographer Jonathan Singer allow viewers to study and appreciate every detail of the hundreds of excellent Chinese viewing stones. This is one of the few books available today in which every detail of the stones and their bases can be seen. Or you can let your imagination run and appreciate them as magnificent mountains or natural works of art. Regardless of how you use this book, it is a significant contribution to the growing art of Chinese stone appreciation in western countries. Abbeville Press Publishers, the leading publisher of fine art books, spared no expense in the production of this work. The design, layout, quality of the paper, printing, and binding are of the highest quality. The stones are displayed one per page except for groups of smaller stones in the latter part of the book. The 300 illustrations are duotones rather than color, which is appropriate considering the exotic nature of the stones. Abbeville Press brought together the skilled nature photographer Jonathan Singer, the fine collection of Chinese stones owned by Kemin Hu, and VSANA chairman and writer Thomas S. Elias to produce this work. The result is an extraordinary volume packed with information. Kemin Hu provides an introduction, while Elias provides essays on the history of Chinese stone appreciation, the value and importance of the Hu collection: and stone display.

gems, jade, China, Chinese jade, archaic jade, nephrite

Wilson examines the reuse and alteration of Chinese jade objects during the second millennium BCE, arguing that jade’s durability allowed objects to remain in circulation for generations or centuries and to be repaired, recycled, or repurposed as cultural values and uses changed. Drawing on objects in the Freer and Sackler collections and comparisons with excavated material, he distinguishes three principal forms of reworking. A monumental late Neolithic Longshan harvesting blade (hu) was broken and carefully repaired while still an important prestige object; Neolithic ritual tubes (cong) and Shang collared disks were deliberately cut up and transformed into new objects, including taotie fittings, axes, and fish pendants; and an enormous early Shang jade dagger-axe (ge), already about five centuries old, was given an inscription in the early Western Zhou period recording an event involving the Grand Protector, thereby transforming an antique object into a commemorative object. The study emphasizes that ancient Chinese jades did not necessarily pass directly from manufacture to burial: some were preserved as heirlooms or collectibles, while others were substantially altered to accommodate new functions and tastes. These practices reveal changing attitudes toward jade during the transition from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age, when some earlier ritual traditions declined while more decorative uses, particularly jewelry, became increasingly important.

gems, jade, China, Chinese jade, nephrite, Qing Dynasty

Sumptuous catalog of an exhibition held at Poly Art Museum in July 2014. Viewing the Good fortune in Silence: The Qing Dynasty Palace Jade Carving Art Exhibition" exhibited a number of Qing Dynasty palace jade articles, most of them during the Qianlong period, with high quality, abundant quantity, and complete categories, which can be described as an unprecedented event. "Viewing the Creation in Stillness" is taken from the seal of the Emperor Qianlong's idle chapter, implying that the emperor eliminated the disturbances of the world and observed the magic of the universe in a state of silence. The beautiful jade is the bell of heaven and earth. It has good craftsmanship and delicacy. The jade articles in the exhibition are divided into eight categories: jade used in ordinances, jade used in religious sacrifices, jade used in furnishings, jade used in houses, jade used in daily life, jade pendants, and antique scars. With deep cultural connotation, I also hope to take this opportunity to share with you the love of jade gentlemen to the legacy of previous generations, and work together to promote the Chinese jade culture. "Viewing the Refined Nature in the Jing Dynasty: The Qing Dynasty Palace Jade Carving Art Exhibition" is a catalogue of the same name published in conjunction with the "Viewing the Wise Peace in the Qing Dynasty-The Palace Jade Carving Art Exhibition in the Qing Dynasty". "Viewing the Good fortune in Silence: Qing Dynasty Palace Jade Carving Art Exhibition" has exquisite pictures, excellent production, and high quality. It is an important reference for researching and enjoying the Qing Dynasty palace jade."

gems, jade, jade carving, jade cutting, lapidary, Tian Gong Kai Wu, Song Yingxing

Song Yingxing's Tian Gong Kai Wu (Illustrated Description of Handicrafts and Industries) of 1637 was the first work to include a description and illustration of the so-called zhuoyu ji (jade carving machine). To date, more than ten editions in printed and manuscript form of the Tian Gong Kai Wu are extant. Differences exist in both the text and illustrations among these editions, which provide a large amount of technical information，but also give rise to difficulties concerning the study of jade carving crafts and texts during Song Yingxing's time. This article focuses on the text about jade carving and the Zhuoyu Tu (Illustration of jade carving) in several of the editions available, and divides the zhuoyu ji depicted in these illustrations into three types—frame type, integrated type and extended type. It provides a preliminary interpretation on six possibilities whether physical prototypes of the frame type and integrated type ever actually existed, and how they may relate to each other.

gems, jade, Chinese jade, nephrite, Chinese jade carving, archaic jade, jadeite, fei cui, Burma, reference books, snuff bottles

Contains lots 385–405 on jade reference books

gems, jade, jadeite, fei cui, Burma, nephrite, China, jade carving

corundum, geology.11, gems, jade, jadeite, fei cui jade, Burma

gems, ancient jewelry, Greece, Greek, Roman, Islamic jewelry, Arabic mineralogy, glyptic, Egypt, Persia, Iran, Syria, Morocco, Mughal jewelry, jade, nephrite, history of science, scientific instruments

This two-part volume contains a large and important group of objects and manuscripts that may be broadly categorised as scientific instruments, tools or magical implements. Many objects of this kind have never before been systematically catalogued, and this volume brings together much information previously scattered to present a corpus of material for future comparative study. The astronomical instruments are those primarily connected with the fundamental concerns of Islamic astronomy – determining the times of prayer and the direction of Mecca – and the teaching and practice of cosmology and astrology. The Collection includes important individual pieces, among them a fine celestial globe made in 1285–6 and a unique Judeo-Arabic astrolabe of circa 1300. Another 218 entries include medical manuscripts, magic bowls, amulets and other magical or geomantic devices that reflect different aspects of medieval Islamic medical care, while a group of mortars, a selection from the large collection of locks, and miscellaneous tools such as scissors, scales and weights, complete this survey of objects which embody the varied preoccupations of Islamic culture. The information presented includes a ground-breaking study of leather workers in medieval Iran.