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| carved jade |
In the western world the popular appreciation of jade is a comparatively recent development. Not so in China however, for throughout the Chinese Empire jade has been the stone par excellence for many centuries. A Chinese will say: "It is not a stone, it is jade." More often than otherwise we hear the material referred to as "Chinese jade." It is interesting to note, therefore, that the name jade is not of Chinese origin but was derived from the Spanish piedra de hijada (stone of the flank), a term which was bestowed upon the stone because the Natives whom Cortez encountered in America greatly esteemed this material as a remedy for all diseases of the kidneys.
Jade is the generic name for two very similar minerals, jadeite and nephrite, the latter word being derived from a Greek term meaning kidney.
The ancient Greeks believed, as did the American Natives, that this stone possessed the virtue of a specific remedy for diseases of the kidneys, and it is a peculiar fact that for centuries the Chinese, isolated from both Greece and America, have entertained the same belief, which incidentally, seems to be quite unsupported by science.
Jade is a hard, tough mineral which is carved only with extreme difficulty, but which for this reason wears well where hard usage is given. It occurs in Turkestan, Siberia, Silesia, Germany and New Zealand, and traces of it have been found in Alaska. The best material comes from Turkestan which is the present principle source of supply, and where it is taken from mines that have been worked for more than two thousand years.
Jade is found in gray, green, white, and blue masses, the preferred variety being that which most closely approximates the emerald in color and which is translucent when held to the light. Material of this type is rare and commands very high prices.
Jade is the generic name for two very similar minerals, jadeite and nephrite, the latter word being derived from a Greek term meaning kidney.
The ancient Greeks believed, as did the American Natives, that this stone possessed the virtue of a specific remedy for diseases of the kidneys, and it is a peculiar fact that for centuries the Chinese, isolated from both Greece and America, have entertained the same belief, which incidentally, seems to be quite unsupported by science.
Jade is a hard, tough mineral which is carved only with extreme difficulty, but which for this reason wears well where hard usage is given. It occurs in Turkestan, Siberia, Silesia, Germany and New Zealand, and traces of it have been found in Alaska. The best material comes from Turkestan which is the present principle source of supply, and where it is taken from mines that have been worked for more than two thousand years.
Jade is found in gray, green, white, and blue masses, the preferred variety being that which most closely approximates the emerald in color and which is translucent when held to the light. Material of this type is rare and commands very high prices.
USED BY PRIMITIVE MAN
Of all gem minerals jade is entitled to the first place in point of antiquity, a fact which has long puzzled mineralogists, for although implements of jade have been found in the oldest cliff dwellings in America, and among the relics of the early lake-dwellers of Switzerland, the sources from whence this material was obtained remain a mystery.
There are no known deposits of jade to which these people might have had access. In spite of this fact, however, jade was well known to the aboriginal Mexicans who employed it as their chief jewel and gave it a place in their estimation which superseded the emerald. They cut it with singular skill by some process now unknown, and appropriated it to the use of their Earth-goddess and royalty alone.
There are no known deposits of jade to which these people might have had access. In spite of this fact, however, jade was well known to the aboriginal Mexicans who employed it as their chief jewel and gave it a place in their estimation which superseded the emerald. They cut it with singular skill by some process now unknown, and appropriated it to the use of their Earth-goddess and royalty alone.
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| Carved Jade Jewelry, Creative Commons photo. |
THE TREASURES OF THE AZTECS
The old chronicler of the Conquest, Diaz, states that when Montezuma first interviewed Cortez, he wore a mantle thickly studded with jade and pearls‚ an elaborately carved clasp of jade fastening the imperial robe. According to his own account, Diaz contented himself with four pieces of jade alone out of all of the accumulated treasures of Montezuma in their division amongst the soldiers on the noche triste 'disastrous night' (July, 1520), when Cortez was forced to evacuate Mexico. He later had occasion to congratulate himself upon his prudent choice, for most of those who had burdened themselves with bullion perished.
JADE MENTIONED BY SIR WALTER RALEIGH
An early notice of jade as a remedial agent appears in Sir Walter Raleigh's account of his travels in Guiana. Treating of a people of Amazons said ''to dwell in the interior of the country'' Raleigh says: ''These Amazons have likewise greate store of these plates of golde, which they recover by exchange, chiefly for a kinde of greene stone, which the Spaniards call Piedras Hijada, and we use for spleene stones, and for the disease of the stone we also esteeme them; of these I saw divers in Guiana, and commonly every King or Casique hath one, which theire wives for the most part weare, and they esteeme them as great jewels.''
Very little reference to jade is made by the Greek and Roman mineralogists. It is probable, however, that many gems designated by them as emerald or chrysoprase were more truly to be classified as jade. The scarcity and the hardness of this material united in preventing the artists of the Renaissance from leaving examples of their workmanship in it. If we are to find classical reference to jade we must turn again to the Chinese.
Very little reference to jade is made by the Greek and Roman mineralogists. It is probable, however, that many gems designated by them as emerald or chrysoprase were more truly to be classified as jade. The scarcity and the hardness of this material united in preventing the artists of the Renaissance from leaving examples of their workmanship in it. If we are to find classical reference to jade we must turn again to the Chinese.
''CHINESE JADE"
As far into the past as Chinese literature can be traced, jade is mentioned, and the esteem in which the mineral was held is shown by the fact that the earliest Chinese pictograph character designating the word king was a string of jade beads. From time immemorial it has been used by this people for amulets, talismans, idols, bells, priest's gongs, symbols of office, the decoration of altars and shrines, jewelry, medicine, and the protection of the dead as well as the living.
We are told that when Confucius was much troubled by the ill-success of his efforts to reform the Chinese morals of his day, he sought consolation in playing on the 'musical stone.'
We are told that when Confucius was much troubled by the ill-success of his efforts to reform the Chinese morals of his day, he sought consolation in playing on the 'musical stone.'
A SUBJECT FOR LEGEND
Jade has been made the subject of countless poetical Chinese legends, among them being the following: A Chinese youth, pursuing a many-hued butterfly, was led into the garden of a wealthy mandarin whose beautiful daughter he thus encountered. The two were mutually attracted to each other, and the youth, instead of being punished for his trespass, ultimately married the maiden. (It should here be explained that jade is used as the mandarin's badge of office.) Because of this story, the Chinese regard the jade butterfly as a symbol of marital happiness, and it is often presented by a bride-groom to his bride.
LARGE JADES
Jade is occasionally found in masses of enormous size. One such piece which was discovered some years ago by Dr. George Frederick Kunz, America's leading authority on gems, weighed 4704 pounds. The largest mass known was uncovered in New Zealand. This weighed 7000 pounds and was donated to the Museum of Natural History of New York by the late J. Pierpont Morgan.
A REMARKABLE MONUMENT
In jade we have the most remarkable monument, taken all in all, that the glyptic art of any age or any nation has produced. This is the immense tortoise found in the bank of the Jumna, and now displayed in the mineralogical gallery of the British Museum. It is carved with an exact fidelity to nature, out of an unparalleled block of fine olive green, perfectly polished and agreeably clouded with lighter shades. Wood
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