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Main jade producing countries. Jade is an umbrella term for two different types of decorative rocks used for jewelry or ornaments.Jade is often referred to by either of two different silicate mineral names: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of minerals), or jadeite (a silicate of sodium and aluminum in the pyroxene group of minerals). [1]
Jadeite is the principal mineral making up the most valuable form of jade, a precious stone particularly prized in China. Most gem-quality jadeite jade comes from northern Myanmar. Jade tools and implements have been found at Stone Age sites, showing that the mineral has been prized by humans since before the beginning of written history.
Jade was used to create many utilitarian and ceremonial objects, ranging from indoor decorative items to jade burial suits, reflecting the ancient Chinese belief that jades would confer immortality or prolong life and prevent decay. Jade spoons, spatulas, and pestles were used to make medicine in order for the jade to bestow its special virtues ...
A bi is a flat jade disc with a circular hole in the centre. Neolithic bi are undecorated, while those of later periods of China, like the Zhou dynasty, bear increasingly ornate surface carving (particularly in a hexagonal pattern) whose motifs represented deities associated with the sky (four directions) as well as standing for qualities and powers the wearer wanted to invoke or embody.
Greenstone artifacts may be made of greenschist, chlorastrolite, serpentine, omphacite, chrysoprase, olivine, nephrite, chloromelanite among other green-hued minerals. [1] The term also includes jade and jadeite, although these are perhaps more frequently identified by these latter terms. [2]
In the absence of metal tools, ancient craftsmen used tools themselves made of jade, leather strops, string saws to cut and carve jade, and reeds or other hard materials to drill holes. Working the raw stone into a finished piece was a very labor-intensive process, often requiring repeated physical movement to shape the jade. [ 12 ]
The Seal was carved from jade because, in ancient China, jade was symbolic of the inner beauty within humans. Many tombs and burials from ancient China contained decorative jade, including a jade burial suit unearthed in 1968 that belonged to a Han prince, Liu Sheng.
The earliest cong were produced by the Xuejiagang culture and the Liangzhu culture (3400–2250 BC); later examples date mainly from the Shang and Zhou dynasties. [2]Interest in the jade shape developed during the 12th–13th century Song dynasty.