gems, jade, nephrite, China, Chinese jade carving, Guangxi

Twelve black nephrite samples collected from the Guangxi region of southern China were investigated by standard gemological testing, polarized microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and electron microprobe analysis, as well as infrared, Raman, and ultraviolet/visible/near-infrared spectroscopy. Originating from Ca-skarn contact metasomatism between limestone bearing siliceous rock and diabase intrusions, black nephrite from Guangxi consists mainly of actinolite or ferro-actinolite and minor stilpnomelane, andradite, apatite, epidote, quartz, diopside, pyrrhotite, and pyrite. Its high refractive index (1.625–1.650) and specific gravity (3.015–3.405), as well as its black color in natural light for plate samples and greenish yellow/brownish yellow or pale green/yellowish green/green color in transmitted light for thin-section samples, are primarily attributable to a high iron content: 11.67–25.75 wt.% Fe oxides and a Mg / (Mg + Fe²⁺) ratio of 0.765–0.343. Mid- and near-infrared spectra and Raman spectra are characterized by four vibration bands corresponding to hydroxyl groups coordinated to three cations in M1 and M3 positions for (M M M)OH combinations: (Mg)OH, (MgFe²⁺)OH, (MgFe²⁺)OH, and (Fe²⁺)OH. Their relative intensities further indicate different iron contents and isomorphous substitution of Fe²⁺ for Mg²⁺ ions.

jade, jadeite, fei cui, jade trade, gems, Myanmar, China,

The trade in jadeite jade is a multi-billion-dollar industry that spans miners and military groups in northern Myanmar, traders and carvers in the Myanmar- China borderlands, and consumers in eastern Chinese cities like Shanghai. Spectral Jade is a study of how the jadeite trade is practiced and why jadeite is so expensive in China. Based on ethnographic research among jadeite traders, carvers, and users, the study presents a spectrum of voices that points to why jade is called ‘The Philosopher’s Stone’ in China, while jadeite could aptly be called ‘Blood Jade’ in Myanmar. Examining interplays of materiality and conceptuality in trade, carving, and use of jadeite, the study considers how nonhuman materiality matters in human imagining, and outlines contours of a Chinese holistic cosmology. Henrik Kloppenborg Møller has done research in, and on China since 2005. His research interests include materiality, authenticity, knowledge, exchange, value, and identity. Spectral Jade is his doctoral dissertation.

gems, jade, nephrite, New Zealand nephrite, Maori nephrite

Of all Māori personal adornments, the human figure pendants known as hei tiki are the most famous, highly prized and culturally iconic. This book celebrates the long history of hei tiki and the enduring cultural potency of these taonga. Te Hei Tiki showcases stunning photographs of a large selection of hei tiki, most from the taonga Māori collections of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and provides fascinating details of the history and culture behind them.

gems, jade, nephrite, jadeite, fei cui, China, Burma, Chinese jade carving, coral, agate, quartz, rock crystal, chalcedony, onyx, amethyst, turquoise

This catalogue documents the works selected for the 2018 China Jade Carving and Stone Carving “Tian Gong Award,” the annual national competition established in 2002 to recognize contemporary Chinese jade and stone carving. It presents the prize-winning and selected works through extensive color photography, recording their materials, subjects, artists, and craftsmanship. The works encompass traditional and contemporary carving in materials including nephrite, Fei Cui, crystal, and a wide range of other ornamental stones, and demonstrate the diversity of styles, techniques, and subject matter practiced by Chinese lapidary artists. As part of the continuing Tian Gong Award catalogue series, the volume provides an important visual record of contemporary Chinese jade carving and documents changing artistic styles, favored materials, technical achievements, and leading practitioners.

gems, jade, nephrite, Mughal jade carving, Khotan, Hotan, Hetian, Chinese jade

Gem-A graduate Taffeta Schneider (FGA DGA) shares an abridged version of her fascinating Gemmology Diploma project on the cultural and symbolic significance of jade to Mughal emperors.

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

An annual survey of contemporary Chinese fei cui (pyroxene jade) carving, documenting technical advances, artistic exploration, and innovation during 2018. Through selected works, the volume records developments in craftsmanship and aesthetic expression, placing them within the broader cultural and social currents shaping Chinese jade carving. It provides a visual reference for the study and appreciation of contemporary fei cui sculpture.

gems, jade, China, Chinese jade, Xinjiang, Khotan, Hetian jade, nephrite, Chinese art, Chinese jade carving, archaic jade

Jade has long played a major role in Chinese social, cultural, and political life. From personal ornamentation to funerary practice, from palace decoration to private devotion, this exquisite material has been revered by commoners and rulers alike. This book charts that vast story, beginning with an in-depth exploration of the stone itself—its unique material qualities and the challenges they raise for workmanship—and then moving chronologically to reveal exactly how jade developed its special moral, ritual, and political significance over millennia in China. The book draws particular attention to the peoples and the communities who quarried and worked the material, passing on their knowledge in a tradition that now spans Neolithic times to the present day. This sweeping narrative is told in part through high-quality examples selected from Harvard’s Grenville L. Winthrop Collection, which includes some of the finest examples of ancient or archaizing jades outside China. The volume highlights around one hundred of these jades, carefully chosen for the ways in which they help advance the broader historical narrative the book provides. Interwoven through the book’s main chapters, the Winthrop objects are further explored through engaging catalogue entries that detail the latest available information based on conservation analysis and archaeological finds. Jenny F. So is professor emerita in the Department of Fine Arts at The Chinese University of Hong Kong; she previously served as senior curator of ancient Chinese art at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.

gems, jade, amphibole jade, nephrite, China, Hetian, gobi

Gobi nephrite as a large variety of the nephrite was few valued. According to the market and trade of Gobi nephrite in recent years, the Gobi nephrite is more and more popular. Therefore,to explore origins and characteristics of the Gobi nephrite, the author researched the Gobi nephrite from Southern Xinjing. Through visit and field investigation, the distribution characteristics of Gobi nephrite origins were summarized in the papers. The origin characteristics of Gobi nephrite were distinguished according to the Gobi nephrite sample collection. Through the observation of natural Gobi nephrite and its imitation, the identification characteristics of natural and imitatied ones were identified. The papers mainly summarized the distribution of Gobi nephrite in the southern Xinjiang, providing guiding technology for future scientific research and prospecting. The origin characteristics of Gobi nephrite and the identification of natural and imitatied Gobi nephrite are proposed to provide practical help for the naked eye identification.

gems, jade, nephrite, Chinese jade carving

In Pursuit of Fine Jades" is a series of books dedicated to the study of beautiful objects made of jade in ancient China from the Michael S. Liu collection. This bilingual catalogue presents the jade collection of Michael S. L. Liu, concentrating on “pictorial jades”—objects whose natural colors, markings, textures, and mineral patterns evoke recognizable images or scenes. Xu and Chen examine the aesthetic appreciation of such material and the ways in which Chinese collectors and craftsmen have responded to naturally occurring features in jade, treating the stone itself as a form of pictorial art. The illustrated objects demonstrate how variations of color and texture can suggest landscapes, figures, animals, plants, clouds, and other imagery, sometimes requiring little or no intervention by the lapidary. Detailed photographs emphasize the relationship between the intrinsic qualities of the material and the visual associations perceived by the viewer. The volume combines connoisseurship, collecting, and close observation of jade, documenting an unusual aspect of Chinese jade appreciation in which naturally formed imagery is valued alongside workmanship and conventional criteria of material quality."

gems, ruby, sapphire, beryl, emerald, jade, nephrite, spinel, Mughal jewelry

Treasures from the Al Thani Collection was an exhibition of artworks from the Al Thani Collection that was held at the Palace Museum in Beijing in 2018. The exhibition featured a diverse selection of artworks from different cultures and time periods. The exhibition featured artworks from antiquity to the early modern period. The exhibition included manuscripts, miniatures, metalwork, textiles, and jewelry. The exhibition included works from different civilizations, such as Egypt, China, Maya, and Cycladic. Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani is a member of the Qatari royal family and a distinguished collector. The first volume of the set documents the exhibition “The Gems and Jewels of India”. It is split into different sections including: The Mughal Treasury; Dynastic Gem and Jewels; Objects of Jade and Rock Crystal; Objects in Gold and Enamel; Regalia and Jewelled Ornaments; Cartier and the Great European Jewellers, and, finally, Contemporary Creations. The second and third volumes both document a second exhibition, held in 2018, entitled “Masterpieces from a Royal Collection”. Volume II focuses on ‘The Ancient World’ and ‘The Wider World’. The former includes Egyptian, Greek and Roman, Mesopotamian and Iranian works as well as Central Asian treasures, whilst the latter has objects from China, Pre- Columbian Central and South America, Africa and the Pacific. Volume III is split more specifically into ‘The Islamic World’ and ‘The European World’. Each theme is further devided into sub sections which cover all aspects of art including Manuscripts, Miniatures, Metalwork and Textiles, or Medieval Reliquaries, Limoges Enamels, Renaissance Jewellery, Rock Crystal and Wunderkammer objects, Silver, Jewellery (Cartier, Melerio, Chaumet, Bolin) and 54 pieces by Fabergé.