Chinese Jade Throughout The Ages

By Stanley Charles Nott
Charles E Tuttle Company
1962 ISBN 0-8048-0100-2

Charles E Tuttle Company writes:

Centuries before the Christian era Jade was valued in China as the purest and most divine of natural treasures, and it evoked a reverence accorded to no other material. It was chosen by the Chinese as the vehicle for communication with the unseen powers of the universe, as the emblem of imperial authority, and as a charm against evil influence. From the earliest times it appears to have been credited with medicinal properties. In its ritual character it was believed to have qualities of solar light and so to have relationship with the powers of heaven. Naturally it was thus appropriate as an attribute of the emperor. To the artist craftsman it appealed not only in its range of exquisite colors but also in his hardness, which to him was a symbol of eternity. He had the artistic impulse to master this hardness in such a way as to give the effect of natural fluency. The resulting creations have provided the inspiration for this book.

First published in 1936 and since then a collector’s item of increasing rarity, Chinese Jade Throughout The Ages comprises a review of the characteristics, decoration, folklore, and symbolism of this esteemed mineral that has always held a proud place among the gems of the world. The book presents a full descriptive account of the significance and meaning of the carvings produced in this prized stone by Chinese craftsmen from the earliest times, through the Chou and succeeding dynasties, down to the twentieth century. In the achievement of his task, the author has endeavored to embody the results of study that occupied his leisure moments over number of years: the study of an intriguing and beautiful art that for many centuries has been interwoven into the very life of the Chinese.

The text is illustrated with a magnificent series of more than 350 reproductions in color (39 plats), black and white (110 plates), and line (73 drawings) of choice pieces selected from the chief Asiatic, European, and American collections. Many of these pieces are displayed here for the first time. In addition, the book explains not only the wealth of symbolic designs used in the decoration of jade but also a large number of the marks and devices by which collectors identify the origin and the date of valued pieces.