gems, jade, jadeite, fei cui, Mesoamerica, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mexico

JADE, that exquisite stone of emerald hue, translucent and of almost gem-like hardness, has ever been sought, prized and almost worshipped by men in all ages. Called by the Chinese yu or yu-chi, “gem” or “jewel stone,” it occupied the highest place as a jewel, and was considered the symbol of virtue and revered as “the quintessence of heaven and earth.” Yet not even in China was jade prized so highly as in pre-Columbian Mexico. When the messengers from Montezuma paid their first visit to the conqueror Cortés shortly after his landing on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, bearing to him the magnificent presents which the great Aztec war chief sent to one whom he believed to be the great god Quetzalcoatl returned again, the most precious of all the gifts, in the eyes of the donors, were four beautiful chalchihuites.