Jade

For other uses, see Jade (disambiguation).

Jade.

A selection of antique, hand-crafted jade buttons made of Chinese jadeite.

An ornamental stone, jade is applied to two different rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals. Nephrite jade consists of the calcium- and magnesium-rich amphibole mineral actinolite (aggregates of which also make up one form of asbestos). The rock called jadeitite consists almost entirely of jadeite, a sodium- and aluminium-rich pyroxene.

The English word 'jade' is derived from the Spanish term piedra de ijada (first recorded in 1565) or 'loin stone', from its reputed efficacy in curing ailments of the loins and kidneys. 'Nephrite' is derived from lapis nephriticus, the Latin version of the Spanish piedra de ijada.

Because both were used by Stone and Bronze Age cultures for similar purposes, and they are both about as hard as quartz, exceptionally tough, beautifully coloured and can be delicately shaped, it was not until the 19th century that a French mineralogist determined that "jade" was in fact two different materials.

During the Stone Age of many cultures, jade was used for axe heads, knives, and other weapons. As metal-working technologies became available, jade's beauty made it valuable for ornaments and decorative objects. Jade has a Mohs hardness of between 6.5 and 7.0 [1], so it can be worked with quartz or garnet sand, and polished with bamboo or even ground jade.

Nephrite can be found in a creamy white form (known in China as "mutton fat" jade) as well as in a variety of green colours, whereas jadeitite shows more colour variations, including dazzling blue, lavender-mauve, pink and emerald-green colours. Of the two, jadeitite is rarer, documented in less than 12 places worldwide. Translucent emerald-green jadeitite is the most prized variety, both now and historically. As "quetzal" jade, bright green jadeitite from Guatemala was treasured by Mesoamerican cultures, and as "kingfisher" jade, vivid green rocks from Burma became the preferred stone of post-1800 Chinese imperial scholars and rulers. Burma (Myanmar) and Guatemala are the principal sources of modern gem jadeitite, and Canada of modern lapidary nephrite. Nephrite jade was used mostly in pre-1800 China as well as in New Zealand, the Pacific Coast and Atlantic Coasts of North America, Neolithic Europe, and southeast Asia. In addition to Mesoamerica, jadeitite was used by Neolithic Japanese and European cultures.

Jade is the official gemstone of British Columbia, where it is found in large deposits in the Lillooet and Cassiar regions.

History

Prehistoric and Historic China

During Neolithic times, the key known sources of nephrite jade in China for utilitarian and ceremonial jade items were the now depleted deposits in the Ningshao area in the Yangtze River Delta (Liangzhu culture 3400–2250 B.C.E.) and in an area of the Liaoning province in Inner Mongolia (Hongshan culture 4700–2200 B.C.E.). Jade was used to create many utilitarian and ceremonial objects, ranging from indoor decorative items to jade burial suits. Jade was considered the "imperial gem". From about the earliest Chinese dynasties until present, the jade deposits in most use were from the region of Khotan in the Western Chinese province of Xinjiang. There, white and greenish nephrite jade is found in small quarries and as pebbles and boulders in the rivers flowing from the Kuen-Lun mountain range northward into the Takla-Makan desert area. River jade collection was concentrated in the Yarkand, the White Jade River|White Jade (Yurungkash) and Black Jade (Karakash) Rivers. From the Kingdom of Khotan, on the southern leg of the Silk Road, yearly tribute payments consisting of the most precious white jade were made to the Chinese Imperial court and there transformed into objets d'art by skilled artisans as jade was considered more valuable than gold or silver.

Jadeitite, with its bright emerald-green, pink, lavender, orange and brown colours was imported from Burma to China only after about 1800. The vivid green variety became known as Feicui (翡翠) or Kingfisher (feathers) Jade. It quickly replaced nephrite as the imperial variety of jade.

Prehistoric and Historic Korea

The use of jade and other greenstone was a long-term tradition in Korea (c. 850 B.C.E. - A.D. 668). The craft production of small comma-shaped and tubular 'jades' using materials such as jade, microcline, jasper, etc in southern Korea originates from the Middle Mumun Pottery Period (c. 850-550 B.C.E.), when such ornaments appeared in burials and pit-house floors (Bale and Ko 2006). Comma-shaped jades are found on some of the gold crowns of Silla royalty (c. A.D. 300/400-668) and sumptuous elite burials of the Korean Three Kingdoms. After the state of Silla united the Korean Peninsula in A.D. 668, the widespread popularisation of death rituals related to Buddhism meant that the use of jade in burials as prestige mortuary goods quickly disappeared.

Māori

Nephrite jade in New Zealand is known as pounamu in the Māori language, and is highly valued, playing an important role in Māori culture. It is considered a taonga, or treasure, and therefore protected under the Treaty of Waitangi, and the exploitation of it is restricted and closely monitored. The South Island of New Zealand is Te Wai Pounamu in Māori - "The [land of] Greenstone Water" - because that is where it was found.

Weapons and ornaments were made of it; in particular the 'mere' (short club), and the Hei-tiki (neck pendant). These were believed to have their own mana, handed down as valuable heirlooms, and often given as gifts to seal important agreements. With no metal tools, it was also used for a range of tools such as adzes.

In New Zealand English the normal term is "greenstone" and jewellery of it in Māori designs is widely popular with locals of all races, and with tourists - although much of the jade itself is now imported from British Columbia and elsewhere.

Mesoamerica

File:Jade pend tik.jpg

Jade pendant, found in a tomb in Tikal, Guatemala

All the jadeite in meseoamerica, used by the Olmec, Maya, and all other cultures since ca 3,000 C.E., comes from the Motagua river valley in Guatemala, and it was one of the most valuable objects in those cultures, a bead of Jade was worth 2 loads of gold for instance. The Spaniards thirsty for gold, did not appreciate it and the mining stopped and the sources were forgotten, until the 1940's, when their were rediscovered, and now Guatemala is producing one of the most appreciate jadeite in the world, in colors that range from soft translucent lilac, blue, green, yellow, and the most creamy and brilliant black in the world, and is the source of the most new colors such the Rainbow Jade, and the unique Galactic Gold, a black jadeite with natural incrustations of gold, silver and platinum.

Other names

Besides the terms already mentioned, jadeite and nephrite are sometimes referred to by the following:

Jadeite

Agate verdâtre, Feitsui, Jadeit, Jadeita, Natronjadeit, Yunnan Jade, Yu-stone, Sinkiang jade

Nephrite

Aotea, Axe-stone, B.C. Jade, Beilstein, Grave Jade, Kidney Stone, Lapis Nephriticus, Nephrit, Nephrita, Nephrite (of Werner), New Zealand Greenstone, New Zealand Jade, Spinach Jade, Talcum Nephriticus, Tomb Jade

Faux Jade

Many minerals are sold as jade. Some of these are: serpentine (also bowenite), carnelian, aventurine quartz, glass, grossularite, Vesuvianite, soapstone (and other steatites such as shoushan stone) and recently, Australian chrysoprase. "Korean jade," "Suzhou jade," "Styrian jade," "Canadian jade," "Olive jade" and "New jade" are all really serpentine; "Transvaal jade" is grossularite.

In almost all dictionaries, the Chinese character 'yù' (玉) is translated into English as 'jade'. However, this frequently leads to misunderstanding: Chinese, Koreans, and Westerners alike generally fail to appreciate that the cultural concept of 'jade' is considerably broader in China and Korea than in the West. A more accurate translation for this character on its own would be 'precious/ornamental rock'. It is seldom, if ever, used on its own to denote 'true' jade in Mandarin Chinese; for example, one would normally refer to 'ying yu' (硬玉, 'hard jade') for jadeite, or 'ruan yu' (軟玉, 'soft jade') for nephrite. The Chinese names for many ornamental non-jade rocks also incorporate the character 'yù', and it is widely understood by native speakers that such stones are not, in fact, true precious nephrite or jadeite. Even so, for commercial reasons, the names of such stones may well still be translated into English as 'jade', and this practice continues to confuse the unwary.

Enhancement

Jade may be enhanced (sometimes called "stabilized"). There are three main methods, sometimes referred to as the ABC Treatment System:

• Type A jadeite has not been treated in any way except surface waxing. This type of jadeite, carat by carat, is the most expensive gem in the world, even more so than diamond.
• Type B treatment involves exposing a promising but stained piece of jadeite to chemical bleaches and/or acids and impregnating it with a clear polymer resin. This results in a significant improvement of transparency and colour of the material. Currently, infrared spectroscopy is the only test for the detection of polymer in jadeite.
• Type C jade has been artificially stained or dyed. The red colour of Red jade can be enhanced with heat. The effects are somewhat uncontrollable and may result in a dull brown. In any case, translucency is usually lost.

Type A treatment is the only enhancement acceptable to professional collectors.

See also

• Gemstone
• Mineral
• Mumun Pottery Period (the time in Korea when jade ornament production began)
• Heavenly Horse Tomb (a Silla royal tomb in Korea with jade artifacts)

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Farndon, John, 2006. The Practical Encyclopedia of Rocks & Minerals: How to Find, Identify, Collect and Maintain the World's best Specimens, with over 1000 Photographs and Artworks. Lorenz Books. ISBN 0754815412 (ISBN-13: 978-0754815419)

• Hurlbut, Cornelius S., and Klein, Cornelis, 1985. Manual of Mineralogy (20th ed.). New York: John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 0-471-80580-7.

• Pellant, Chris, 2002. Smithsonian Handbooks: Rocks and Minerals. New York, NY: DK Adult. ISBN 0789491060 (ISBN-13: 978-0789491060)

• Shaffer, Paul R., Herbert S. Zim, and Raymond Perlman, 2001. Rocks, Gems and Minerals. Revised and Updated edition. St. Martin's Press, Golden Guide. ISBN 1582381321 (ISBN-13: 978-1582381329).

• Bale, Martin T. and Ko, Min-jung. Craft Production and Social Change in Mumun Pottery Period Korea. Asian Perspectives 45(2):159-187, 2006.

• Laufer, Berthold, 1912, Jade: A Study in Chinese Archeology & Religion, Reprint: Dover Publications, New York. 1974.

• Rawson, Jessica, 1975, Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages, London: Albert Saifer, ISBN 0-87556-754-1

External links

• Jadeite sources in Mesoamerica (PDF)
• Maya Jade
• Jade: Chinese Stone of Heaven
• ancient chinese jade
• mindat.org
• Jade in Canada
• Chinese Jade

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