"Small ornaments, great craftsmanship" Let's take a look at the unique jade ornaments in the Palace Museum's collection

"Have you noticed that there are fewer and fewer good-looking jade ornaments in the market?"

Jade lovers who often visit the jade market should have a better understanding of this. Not only are there fewer people selling, but there are also fewer people carving ornaments.

There are two main reasons: First, the jade resources are becoming increasingly depleted, resulting in fewer and fewer large pieces suitable for carving into ornaments;

The second reason is that the risk of ornaments is much higher than other categories. In order to quickly repatriate funds, most merchants prefer to carve the materials into market currency for easy sale.

Due to various reasons, it is difficult to find ornaments made of fine materials and with exquisite craftsmanship nowadays, which is a pity.

On the contrary, there are many exquisite jade ornaments left over from the Qing Dynasty. Each piece was made by court craftsmen. They have distinct characteristics of the times and artistic attainments, and are treasured in the Palace Museum.

Next, let’s follow Cuihui Jewelry to see how exquisite jade ornaments from a hundred years ago can be.

(Green cabbage style flower vase)

This cabbage is carved from a whole piece of jade. Although the color does not look very good, the carving is extremely exquisite. The leaves are plump and upright, full of vigor and vitality.

There is an oval hole in the middle of the cabbage, which can be used to insert flowers. If you don't usually arrange flowers in it, you can also put it on your desk as a decoration for appreciation.

(Emerald carving flower and bird pattern flower vase)

This flower vase is obviously much more beautiful than the cabbage one above. It is in the shape of a tree stump and is carved from bright yellow and green jadeite. You can vaguely see its transparency. If you look closely, you can see that the outer wall is carved with peony branches and there are birds on the branches, which creates a lively scene.

With high-end materials and exquisite craftsmanship, it is a very rare treasure even in the Qing Dynasty court. I wonder in which high-ranking queen's palace it was placed?

(Emerald carving of figures and mountain scenery)

It is an extremely precious mountain-shaped ornament and it is difficult to find another one like it in the Palace Museum.

The so-called Shanzi is actually a rockery, in which there are sculptures of children carrying hoes, old men chatting in the courtyard, cranes in the sky and deer on the ground. It is otherworldly and full of realism.

To carve out this sense of realism is a great test of the jade carver's skills. Deep carving, relief carving, hollow carving and other techniques must all be used to create such a rare treasure!

(Empress Taiping Elephant Chime)

Chime is a percussion instrument, and the sound of jade being struck is quite crisp, making it perfect for making chimes.

If you want jade to make a pleasant sound, first of all, its thickness should not be too thick, otherwise the sound will be somewhat muffled. The thickness of the jade sheet in the picture above is only 0.7 cm, which was very thin considering the craftsmanship at that time.

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