Chinese Jade Carving

 Jade Carving: Jade is semipreacious gem stones which are cut and polished to be then turned into decortative objects, like small statues and jewerly.

Here is a jade carving. It is a mythological tortoise made from nephrite jade. It has some brown colors to it. The texture appears to be very smooth and solid. It almost gives off a wet shine to it, because it is so polished.

 

Jade was very important to the Ancient Chinese. It aided the conforting belief of magic powers. Jade played a great role in the higher society of China. The emperors were buried in it and sometimes even covered in it, like the jade suits which were worn by a prince and his wife in their burial tombs. It was thought as a powerful gemstone that could protect the body from decomposing.  

These are Slit rings(Jue). They could be considered jade earrings. It was an ornament to be worn, probably of the weathly.

Jade was mostly made for decorative uses instead of functunal purposes. Though, jade was involved with  ritual ceremonies, burial ceremonies, and vessals. Jade was made into a variety of animals, like this one. It is of a bat. 

It is a nephrite jade amber colored pendant from the Han dynasty. The form almost looks symmetrical. This bat pendants appears very stylized.

A video I watched explained the difference of real jade to imitators. When jade is close to the light it is almost transparent. So if it has air bubbles then it is probably plastic and marble is too opaque. Here is the video it does not have great quality:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUPZ__HpNRE&feature=related

I searched for awhile on youtube for a video which demonstrated how to carve jade in the old tradiontal style. Here is a great informative video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1oO1kbtt4s

Here are few websites: http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/online_tours/asia/chinese_jade/chinese_jade.aspx

http://huntingtonarchive.osu.edu/Exhibitions/chineseJadeExhibit_Jade.html