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Many
Chinese believe
that if a person wears
jade jewelry and is involved in an accident, the
jade jewelry will be broken but its wearer will be
protected. For the Chinese, jade is "the quintessence of
heaven and earth," even surpassing diamonds.
The Chinese came to think of jade as being of
supernatural origin, and hence as something that
might be used to promote intercourse with heaven and
propitiate the heavenly powers. Traditionally they
associate it with their five cardinal virtues: charity,
modesty, courage, justice and wisdom. Philosophers
taught that jade, swallowed under the right conditions,
would confer the ability to live for thousands of years,
the power of rendering oneself invisible, and the
ability to fly.
There are, of course, few
who continue to hold to such beliefs, but they do
serve to indicate the high esteem in which jade was held
for centuries among the Orientals. But aside from the
superstitions attaching to jade, it is, in fact, a most
beautiful stone. In most parts of southeast Asia if you
observe Chinese or Vietnamese ladies dressed in their
best, you will seldom see them without a jade ornament
somewhere about their persons.
There are two separate
stones that go by this name: nephrite, a Silicate of
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and
magnesium, and jadeite or Chinese jade, a silicate of sodium and
aluminum. Interestingly, that name "nephrite," from the Greek word
for kidney, reflects the idea that ground-up jade is a cure for
kidney ills. The difference between jadeite and nephrite is really
of importance only to collectors. On the whole, jadeite is more
brilliant and takes a higher polish, while nephrite looks more oily
than glossy.
Although China has long been the emporium for art objects
fashioned in jade, this material in its natural state is seldom
found in China. It was imported from other lands, notably Myanmar.
But now nephrite comes mainly from New Zealand, and jadeite is found
chiefly in Myanmar. Jade is often found in riverbeds where it has
been washed down from the mountains. It is also quarried from
mountains, but the Chinese have a preference for riverbed jade.
Usually we think of jade jewelry as having a bright spinach-green
color. However, it comes in a variety of colors ranging from
pure white, through yellow, red, and blue to black.
Identifying Genuine Jade
Since there are many stones that bear a strong resemblance to
jade, how can we know when we have the real thing? If you wanted
to buy a piece of jade and avoid the imitations that are passed off
as genuine, the easiest way would be to have an expert determine the
question. Two things in particular make jade unique: its density and
its hardness. Its density or specific gravity refers to the ratio of
its weight to an equal volume of water. Jadeite has a specific
gravity of 3.4 or slightly less, nephrite of about 3.0. Thus a piece
of nephrite weighing three ounces would be of the same volume as one
ounce of water.
Hardness determinations are based on the simple principle that a
harder material will scratch a softer one, and never vice versa.
So, to test a piece of jade we would need, for example, a topaz. If
it made no impression on the stone, then it must be genuine jade.
Something simpler is to take a steel penknife or pin and scratch
or prick the stone. It is impossible to make any impression on
the real jade in this way, but most imitations, such as soapstone,
would be marked. Of course, it is not advisable to go around
indiscriminately scratching or pricking other people's art objects.
If, however, you really have reason to apply this test, there is
often an inconspicuous place, say, at the back or on the base of an
object, where you can try it out, and if it is genuine jade no harm
can be done. Glass, also, can be treated to look very much like
jade, but a piece of glass would weigh considerably less than jade
of the same bulk.
The price of jade jewelry varies tremendously. More is
involved than just the intrinsic value of a piece. Color, shape,
quality and especially age and history play important roles. In 1960
a piece of carved Chinese jade was sold at auction for over $16,000.
In 1860 a British expedition to Peking sacked the Emperor's Summer
Palace and carried off many of his magnificent jades. If one sees an
object today marked "from the Summer Palace, Peking," then one can
be assured of excellent quality, if the tag is telling the truth.
Jade jewelry prices vary around the world, too. In Hong Kong
a jade can be obtained for as little as $4. In Myanmar or Burma, the
main source of Jade this days, one can get a very pretty Jade bangle
for about $ 10,- in the Bogyoke
Aung Sang market in Yangon or Rangoon. But in Europe and America
higher prices usually prevail. A foremost jade manufacturer of Hong
Kong is quoted as saying that if a stone is too dark, say, moss
green, or too light, with much yellow tint, that is the sign of an
inferior stone. The quality jade, said he, is lush green, vibrant,
with a lot of shine in it. It must not be mottled; rather, almost
translucent.
The Working of Jade
The working of jade is a long, slow, laborious task--one at
which the Chinese are the acknowledged masters. In one Peking
workshop craftsmen worked continuously day and night in shifts and
still took many years to complete one piece. For two centuries at
least their methods have continued unchanged. But how do they go
about the job?
The first thing we must know about the matter is that jade is not
carved. Rather, it is drilled and ground. Boulders of jade are
cut into pieces of suitable size by means of a saw. Because of the
hardness of jade its surface must be kept constantly coated with a
moistened abrasive of some material harder than itself. Thus, in
fact, the abrasive does the cutting and not the saw.
Boulders are sawn first from the top, and then from the
bottom, but such is the skill of the workmen that the place where
the two cuts merge is practically invisible. From this point the
method to be employed depends on the object being made. Holes are
made with a primitive, hand-operated diamond drill. A hollow steel
tube is used for shaping the inside of vases; abrasive and water are
again introduced and the tube is rotated until the desired depth is
reached. Then the unwanted section down the center of the vase is
given a smart tap to make it come away. If an unnoticed flaw in the
jade causes the center trunk to break short of the desired place,
the stump remaining will have to be drilled away.
Some vases are fashioned with a handle on the side, and from
this handle another ring of jade may hang, looking rather like an
earring on a pierced ear. That ring was originally one piece with
the vase and was drilled away by the craftsman until it hung free.
Entire chains of such rings are sometimes made from one stone.
Bowls are hollowed out by making a series of parallel,
vertical cuts close together down into the solid piece of jade,
leaving a series of raised leaves that are then chipped away. The
bowl is finished by being ground with shaped disks of steel and the
usual abrasive. Final polishing is accomplished with revolving disks
of wood or leather and a special powder.
Uses of Jade
A piece of greenish-white jade weighing 640 pounds having been
brought into Peking, Emperor Ch'ien Lung ordered it to be
fashioned into a representation of a mountain landscape. The job was
completed in 1874--a beautiful work of art, a mountain with streams,
trees, pavilions, bamboo groves, peopled with literary scholars of
the fourth century. Even larger scenes were reproduced by the Peking
craftsmen. However, this particular one may be viewed by Westerners,
for it now stands in the Walker Art Gallery, Minneapolis--probably
the largest piece of worked jade in the United States.
Countless other objects have been fashioned out of jade--thrones,
jade jewelry, beds, pillows, screens, chopsticks, teapots, plates,
books (with writing inscribed in gold on jade plaques covered with
brocade and stored in sandalwood boxes), statues of Buddha and other
prominent persons, flowers, combs, chessmen, fans, toys, opium pipes
and various items of jewelry. At one time jade was even used for
making tools, but the advent of metal made for more effective tools.
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