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7000 Years of Chinese Jade from the Collection of Sir Joseph Hotung

"Soft, smooth and glossy, it appeared to them like benevolence; fine, compact and strong - like intelligence" Attributed to Confucius (c. 551-479 BC).

From very ancient times jade has been the material of the highest value to the Chinese. Beautiful and mysterious, it was worn by Chinese kings and nobles in life as well as death, endowed with symbolic as well as material significance. This exhibition illustrates the history of jade in China from c.5000 BC to the present day.

Brush pot
The jade this pot was made from in an exquisite dark green. I was having a great deal of difficulty getting a clear colour picture so eventually just switched to infra red because I wanted to capture the detail of the carvings on the pot more than the colour.

 

Headpiece
This is also jade. The colours the stone come in are remarkably different. The jade used to carve this headpiece did not contain the slightest hint of green - and is vastly different to the deep green stone of the brush pot.