gems, jade, pyroxene jade, jadeite, fei cui, omphacite, kosmochlor

Jade is primarily composed of the mineral aggregate of nephrite (NaAlSi₂O₆). In addition to nephrite, it sometimes contains other monoclinic pyroxene minerals, which have been identified as follows: chrome nephrite, translucent nephrite, sodium-chrome pyroxene nephrite, diopside, sodium-chrome pyroxene diopside, translucent sodium-chrome pyroxene, nephrite-like sodium-chrome pyroxene, sodium-chrome pyroxene, diopside, nephrite-like monoclinic omphacite, translucent monoclinic omphacite, jadeite, and jade-like minerals, among others. Only jade stones primarily composed of nephrite with a molar percentage greater than 50% can be called jade. Jade stones mainly composed of other monoclinic pyroxene minerals should be respectively called jade-like minerals, translucent jade-like minerals, diopside jade, nephrite-like diopside, sodium-chrome jade, translucent sodium-aluminum jade, and translucent sodium-chrome jade. Jadeite and “jade-like” minerals that are commonly found together with it often contain feldspar minerals such as magnesium hornblende, magnesio-calcic hornblende, magnesium-aluminum-sodium hornblende, iron-aluminum-sodium hornblende, chromium-iron-aluminum-sodium hornblende, chromium-aluminum-sodium hornblende, chromium-sodium hornblende, blue hornblende, chromium blue hornblende, and chromium-nyboite, among others. Among these, chromium-sodium hornblende is a newly discovered alkali hornblende mineral with the highest Cr₂O₃ content (up to 17.53% to 20.48%). Its chemical formula is: Na₀.₉₃₀(Ca₀.₀₇₅Na₁.₉₂₅)₂.₀₀(Mg₀.₁₅₆Fe₀.₃₇₉Ti₀.₀₁₃Al₀.₅₆₀Cr₂.₂₂₁)₃.₃₂₈(Si₇.₅₃₁Al₀.₄₆₉)₈.₀₀₀(OH)₂.

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

VSANA: This interesting volume was Kemin Hu’s first book about Chinese stone appreciation and provides readers with an indication of Chinese stone appreciation in the United States in the mid- to late-1980s. It has one-page contributions from leading stone aficionados of the time including Ian Wilson, Richard Rosenblum, C.C. Wang and Hu Zhaokang, Kemin’s father and teacher. The text is in English and Chinese. The majority of the book is devoted to numerous, high quality photographs of outstanding stones from the collections of Richard Rosenblum, Ian and Susan Wilson, C.C. Wang (stones and paintings), Hu Zhaokang, Chang Dai Chien, and of historical and famous garden rocks in China. It is a valuable overview of many fine stones. The use of the word gongshi in the title has led many people in western countries to believe that this is the accepted and widely used term in China for stones appreciated as natural art objects. In later books, Hu shifted to use “scholar rocks” in describing Chinese stones.

gems, jade, Turkey

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

Contains Landscape stones, pictographic stones, spar, fossil, beautiful stone, dhyana stone, stones collected by eminent persons, and famous stones in history. Copiously illustrated with full color photographs throughout. Both English and Chinese text throughout.

gems, jade, Chinese jade, nephrite, Chinese jade carving, Taiwan

Wang presents an illustrated introduction to Taiwan’s ornamental stones, intended to promote knowledge of local stone culture and provide collectors with a systematic reference. Accessible explanations and extensive photography introduce the materials and their appreciation, while discussion encompasses carving, processing, collecting, care, and the contemporary market. The volume connects practical knowledge of working and collecting stones with their aesthetic appreciation, serving both newcomers and experienced enthusiasts interested in Taiwan’s stone resources and collecting traditions.

jade, jadeite, fei cui, Burma, jade treatments, gems

gems, jade, jadeite, fei cui, Mesoamerica, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mayans, Olmecs, Aztecs, archaeology, history, archaeogemology, Pre-Columbian jade; Costa Rica; Maya; exchange; iconography, lapidary, Incas, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia

Andean Art at Dumbarton Oaks presents the Andean portion of the Robert Woods Bliss Collection of Pre-Columbian Art. The volume superbly illustrates all 133 Andean objects in color plates and includes numerous complementary and comparative black-and-white illustrations and drawings. The body of Pre-Columbian art that Robert Woods Bliss carefully assembled over more than half a century, between 1912 and 1963, and which has been expanded slightly since his death, constitutes a remarkably significant collection. These works rank among the finest examples of the visual arts produced by Andean cultures. This Andean volume is the first in a planned series of four catalogues devoted to the entirety of the Bliss Pre-Columbian collection. The remaining volumes were intended to focus on objects from eastern Mesoamerica (Olmec and Maya), western Mesoamerica (Teotihuacan, Veracruz, Mixtec, and Aztec), and Lower Central America. Andean Art is composed of five thematic essays, shorter studies on the Andean cultures represented in the collection, and detailed discussions of the individual objects. These contributions were written by specialists in Pre-Columbian art and present the latest scholarly perspectives on Andean cultures and the works themselves. All thirteen authors bring broad expertise in Andean cultural history, archaeology, and art history to their essays, while focusing primarily on the objects in order to provide meaningful contexts and to demonstrate how these artworks, created and used with specific purposes, reveal distinctive qualities of Andean civilization. The volume gives readers a strong sense of how the creators and original owners of the objects in the Bliss collection used and valued these works on many levels. The authors also place individual pieces alongside comparable examples whenever possible. An especially notable feature of the book is the technical analysis of the metal objects contributed by metals specialist Heather Lechtman.

gems, jade, fei cui, pyroxene jade, jadeite, b-jade, treated jade

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

Based on the Symposium on the Mineralogical Studies of Archaic Jades, jointly organized by the National Taiwan University and the Taiwan Museum, held at the University on January 12 and 13, 1996.

gems, jade, pyroxene jade, fei cui, Japan, Itoigawa

Appearing in the Early Jōmon period and suddenly disappearing in the Nara period, the green stone known as “jade” captivated the people of ancient Japan. Tracing this stone so admired by the ancients, the book recounts the search for and discovery of its source localities and, while touching upon traditions such as the legend of Nunakawa-hime, approaches the true nature of this still mysterious jade.