Find the magnificence of jade culture from these rare jadeite origins

Jade is known as the national jade. In ancient times, only royal relatives were worthy of owning it. In other words, those who can wear jade today are all powerful people. It is precisely because jade is produced much less than ordinary jade and is a non-renewable resource, its green, lustrous and translucent texture has attracted a large number of followers.

It is no exaggeration to describe our protagonist today as “rarely seen in a century”. This emerald jade double dragon, live ring-ear, lion-knob lid incense burner is not only full green, but also of ice grade. It has been well preserved from the late Qing Dynasty to the present, which is truly rare in a century!

Late Qing Dynasty Jadeite Double Dragon Live Ring Ear Lion Button Lid Censer, width 19.8 cm

If there were such a good and large piece of material in today's world where every inch of jade is worth a lot of money, I would definitely cut it into bracelets! The process is not complicated and you can make a lot of money. But in the Qing Dynasty, it was carved into this exquisitely carved incense burner.

The incense burner is round in shape, with a narrow neck and a bulging belly. Both sides of the shoulders are decorated with symmetrical dragon ears, each with a ring, and under the belly there are three lion-head swallowing-style feet. The lid has a round top, carved with floral patterns, and decorated with Taishi and Shaoshi buttons.

As we all know, jadeite flowed into China from Myanmar during the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty in the 17th century. At that time, most of the jadeite was owned by the royal family, and very little of it was distributed among the people. Starting from Emperor Qianlong, the seven emperors Jiaqing, Daoguang, Xianfeng, Tongzhi, Guangxu and Xuantong and their concubines all had a special liking for jadeite.

Eunuchs and merchants measured their wealth by the abundance of their jade collections, so jade was also called "royal jade" and "imperial jade", and its status surpassed all kinds of gemstones. So it is obvious that this jade incense burner is not something that ordinary people can own, but something from the "palace".

The incense burner is quite large, with a diameter of 19.8cm. A test by the Hong Kong Jade Appraisal Center confirmed that the incense burner is natural jadeite. Natural jade is extremely precious, and it is made of high-quality materials, is very old, and is well preserved, making it a rare treasure.

The box of the incense burner is still well preserved

Jadeite flowed into China from Burma during the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty in the 17th century. Most of it was owned by the royal family, and very little was distributed among the public. From Emperor Qianlong to Emperor Xuantong, all seven emperors and their concubines had a special fondness for jadeite. Princes and nobles used the abundance of their jadeite collections to measure their wealth, so jadeite is also called "royal jade" and "imperial jade" , and its status surpasses all kinds of gems.

Due to constant wars on the Myanmar border, Emperor Qianlong used military force against ancient Myanmar twice in history, making ancient Myanmar a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty. Since then, jadeite raw stones have been continuously transported to my country. In fact, the Qianlong period was also the heyday of jadeite popularity in ancient times, as evidenced by the clear records of imported jadeite raw stones in many ancient documents.

According to the Tengyue Local Chronicles, "Teng is the gathering place for jade, with thousands of jade craftsmen who make jade utensils and sell them to various provinces in Yunnan." This means that jadeite was transported from Myanmar to Tengchong, Ruili and other places in Yunnan for processing, and then sent to various parts of the country for sale.

The journey to transport jade from Myanmar is long and dangerous. On the ancient roads at that time, there were often seven or eight thousand or even more than ten thousand horses transporting jade. Over the years, hundreds of years of trade and inheritance have also created our unique jade culture today.

(Partial view of the scroll of Emperor Qianlong's Southern Tour)

Tengchong Customs once recorded that in 1902 there were 271 dan, each dan had 100 jin, and each jin was 16 liang; in 1915 there were 328 dan, and in 1917 there were 801 dan, increasing year by year. Every time jadeite raw stones arrived, merchants from all over the country came with huge sums of money in order to get the best raw stones, creating a grand scene of " the once prosperous Treasure Street, with wealthy merchants coming with capital ".

Jadeite feather tube

Those who can wear jadeite plume tubes are all civil officials of the first rank.

The jadeite feather tube official hat is well preserved and can only be found in the Palace Museum

In ancient times, jade saddle rings were mostly plain rings and were worn by both men and women. Generally, men's rings were thick and large, while women's rings were narrow and small.

These were three jade relics of the last empress. They were auctioned for a high price of HK$6.64 million at the time, causing a sensation.

The most famous jade ring from the Qing Dynasty is the one that belonged to the eunuch Li Lianying. It is of excellent quality and has a spicy color. It is rumored online to be worth 200 million yuan.

This necklace was Cixi's favorite among many jade ornaments. The starting price in 2014 was RMB 180 million. However, it failed to be sold due to various reasons. It was said that this necklace was unlucky. However, Cixi was extremely obsessed with jadeite, and it was she who pushed jade culture to a new peak.

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