jade, jadeite, fei cui, nephrite, archaic jade, China, gems

The Worrell Collection of Chinese jade animals has been assembled by T. Eugene Worrell, who is an avid outdoorsman and a noted animal art collector who resides in Charlottesville, Virginia. Believed to be unique among American jade collections, it numbers more than 150 carvings of real and imagined creaturess from the legendary Chinese bestiary, dating from the neolithic age to the twentieth century. Forty-one examples from the collection were chosen by John Ayers for inclusion in this book. Under his scholarly pen, A Jade Menagerie becomes an indispensable reference for the serious collector and a delightful introduction to jade collecting for everyone.