Jade

What is jade?

Jade is one of the hardest minerals on earth. In fact, it is harder than modern industrial steel! It has been prized for millennia for its rarity, translucency, durability, subtle colors and fine polish.

Jade occurs naturally in a number of places around the globe including parts of Asia, Mesoamerica, and the Pacific Islands. Examples of objects from each of these regions from the permanent collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts are included in this set as well as video clips about jade and its unique properties.

Working Jade

Jade is not really "carved." It is extremely hard, but it is also glassy and brittle and would crack or shatter if hit with a hammer and chisel. Rather, it is abraded with powders made of harder minerals such as quartz, garnet, or diamond.

View this brief video produced by the Asian Art Museum of San Fransciso showing the process of working jade from 'raw' stone to finished product.

'Raw' jade

In its natural state, jade looks quite unremarkable. It has an outer 'skin' that masks the beauty of what's inside. In this example of unworked jade, a section of the outer skin has been cut away to reveal the precious dark green material inside.

Animal Face Appliqué

Artist: Artist Unknown (China)
Date: 1766-1122 B.C.
Medium: Jade
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Accession #: 50.46.266

Jade has been fashioned into ceremonial and prestige objects in China for many thousands of years. Believed to offer personal protection, small jade objects were worn as jewelry and buried in tombs, thus protecting both the living and the dead.

Mask-like faces like this one, called t'ao tieh, can be seen in objects made from jade, bone, bronze, and other precious materials. See another example of t'ao tieh on the bronze vessel in the next slide.

T'ao tieh is pronounced: TOW (as in "tower") - TYUH (rhymes with "the")

Kuei (Ritual Food Vessel), Artist Unknown (China)

Details of Kuei (Ritual Food Vessel)

Notice the two t'ao tieh mask-like faces seen in these detail images of the bronze vessel.

Pendants in the Form of a Fish and a Cow

Pendant in the Form of a Fish, Artist Unknown (China)

Pendant in the Form of a Reclining Cow, Artist Unknown (China)

Artist: Artist Unknown (China)
Date: 770-221 B.C.
Medium: Jade
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Accession #: 50.46.235 and 50.46.321

Skilled jade artisans, who would have been highly regarded members of society, achieve a remarkable degree of detail and expressiveness in their images of animals like those seen here. The collection of the MIA includes many other ancient Chinese jade animal pendants and amulets, including dragons, rabbits, insects, and more. Search for 'jade' using the Art Finder to see more examples: Click Here .

Pi Disk

Artist: Artist Unknown (China)
Date: 206 B.C.-220 A.D.
Medium: Jade
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Accession #: 50.46.315

This elegant jade form and the one found on the next slide are frequently found in aristocratic burials from Neolithic times through the Han Dynasty in China. Their exact meaning and purpose is unclear. However, research suggests they may have served a protective function for the body and soul of the deceased.

Today, jade continues to be associated with protection, and many contemporary Chinese people continue the age old tradition by wearing jade bracelets, necklaces, and the like.

For a detailed timeline of Chinese history, click on the link below:

http://www.artsmia.org/art-of-asia/history/chinese-dynasty-guide.cfm

Ts'ung

Artist: Artist Unknown (China)
Date: 206 B.C.-A.D. 220
Medium: Jade
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Accession #: 50.46.301

Ancient written, artistic and archaeological Chinese records indicate a belief in an afterlife. During the Han Dynasty when this object was made and even earlier, necessities for the afterlife were buried in the elaborate tombs of the elite. In addition to practical considerations such as food, drink, clothing, money, musical instruments, and modes of transportation, ritual and protective items made of jade, bronze and other precious materials were also included.

Pi Disk and Ts'ung

While jade is most commonly thought of as a light green stone, it actually comes in a wide range of colors including yellow, white, grey, brown and more.

Notice the variety of colors in these two jade objects and in the others included in this set.

Nephrite and Jadeite

Jade ("yu" in Chinese) is actually a general term used to refer collectively to two specific stones: nephrite and jadeite.

It can be difficult to distinguish between the two types. But, in general, nephrite is waxy in apperance while jadeite is glossy. Also, nephrite, which is native to China, was used most often in ancient China. Jadeite comes from Burma, Afghanistan, Siberia, Tibet and Turkestan, and was not used in China until about 1800.

In this slide, the object on the left is nephrite and the one on the right is jadeite.

Jade Mountain Illustrating the Gathering of Poets at the Lan T'ing Pavilion

Jade Mountain Illustrating the Gathering of Scholars at the Lanting Pavillion, Unknown

Artist: Artist Unknown (China)
Date: 1784
Medium: Jade
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Accession #: 92.103.13

This sculpture is one of the most beloved by vistors of all ages at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. It is thought to be the largest piece of historically carved jade outside of China. It weighs in at a whopping 640 pounds!

Click on the "More Info' button below for related resources about this object.

Types of Chinese Jade

Lark Mason, Asian antiques expert and Antiques Roadshow contributer, discusses varieties of Chinese jade during an interview with his daugther Joanna Mason.

Jade Beyond China

The MIA's collection of Chinese jade is especially remarkable, as we've seen in the preceding images. There are many other Chinese jades to explore online or during a visit to the museum, where Gallery 210 is often referred to as the "Jade Corridor."

In addition, the MIA's holdings also include important examples of jade from places outside of China. The following slides highlight a sampling of jades from around the globe.

Group of Three Celts

Celt, group of three, Artist Unknown (Taino)

Artist: Artist Unknown (Taino)
Date: c.800-1200
Medium: Jade
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts

"Celt" is a term derived from the Latin celtis or chisel. Fashioned by many early cultures, celts vary in size and shape, but are generally made from polished stone (jade here) and tapered at one or both ends. They were likely used as multi-purpose tools that functioned like hammers, hatchets, and chisels.

Because those seen here are made of rare and highly valued jade, they likely served ceremonial functions. Other, more common stones (such as basalt) would have been used for utilitarian celts.

The three celts shown here from the Taino people of the Dominican Republic highlight the variation in the color of jade and accentuate the prized smoothness and shine natural to jade.

Mask

Artist: Artist Unknown (Olmec)
Date: 900-300 B.C.
Medium: Jade
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Accession #: 2002.127

Artist: Artist Unknown (Maya)
Date: 550-900
Medium: Jade
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Accession #: 2004.104.1

The Olmec, early inhabitants of Mesoamerica, prized jade more than gold and went to great lengths to obtain it. Jade was used to create ceremonial objects like the death mask on the left. However, it was not available locally in the Olmec territory along the Gulf Coast of Mexico. It had to be imported from elsewhere in Mesoamerica (the region from central Mexico south into Central America).

The ancient Maya, whose empire was at its height during the period when the mask shown here on the right was made, also valued jade and fashioned it into handsome objects like this one.

Mere Pounamu

Artist: Artist Unknown (Maori)
Medium: Jade
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Accession #: 99.101.3

The Maori of New Zealand also value jade (pounamu) as a prestige material. This short club (mere) can serve as a weapon and also as a status symbol.