Jade carving: a skilled "plastic surgeon"

As the saying goes, jade cannot be made into a useful object without being carved. Every piece of jade must be carved. Carving is not only reflected in the carving process, but also means removing the imperfect parts of the jade such as dirty color and impurities. Its purpose is to make up for the imperfections of the jade material.

Good materials require good craftsmanship. How can a material with good quality, water content and color be made with poor craftsmanship? In Myanmar, the worst jade raw materials are used to build walls and pave roads. Teacher Wang has posted photos before, and many jade friends should have seen them. Low-grade jade materials weighing several tons may only be sold for a few thousand yuan.

Therefore, in the jade industry, jade carvers play a vital role in the jade industry chain. "A few words can express thousands of thoughts, and the vastness of the world can be shown in a small space." This is undoubtedly the core presentation of the spirit of jade carving craftsmen. An excellent jade carving craftsman is also a persistent person.

For example, for high-end jade materials, a highly skilled carving master will definitely be found to complete the carving, while low-end processing is generally completed by apprentices, who practice under the guidance of the master. In this way, it may only cost 10 yuan or even less to process a flower piece. Some people say that machine carving can be used, and machine carving is widely used, but there are also many hand-carvings by apprentices. After all, jade carving masters also grew up from apprentices.

Some jade friends asked, what is the difference between good carving and bad carving? Why are some carvings expensive while others are cheap?

Good material quality

Jade carvings are generally made of good materials and fine workmanship. Among mid- to high-end jade, the raw materials are top-quality A-grade jade with good quality, water color, and its own value accounts for 70% or even more. Good craftsmanship is like the icing on the cake, which best shows the charm of jade itself. However, poor carving can ruin a jade work.

Time consuming

Jade carving is generally divided into two types: hand-carved and machine-carved. There is a world of difference between the grades and prices of them. Hand-carving consumes more time and energy. More importantly, not everyone can carve beautiful jade pieces. These require master craftsmen with many years of experience.

You can't do porcelain work without a diamond drill. If you use a very cheap brick material to make it, it is not enough to cover the labor cost. Jade carving is very time-consuming and laborious. It takes at least half a month and at most half a year or a year to carve an object. Sometimes it is not something that one person can complete. This shows the importance of carving. Many friends like to compare prices and say where is cheaper. If it is hand-carved, the cost of a piece may be tens of thousands of dollars, which is incomparable to machine carving.

Knowing the carving techniques is not enough, of course. We also need to learn how to judge the quality of jade carvings, and we only need to look at three indicators: "clever", "pretty", and "exquisite".

The “Skill” of Jade

"Skillfulness" refers to the ingenuity of the conception and meaning of the work. A good conception can present the artistic conception of a jade work to the greatest extent. According to the type, water, color, structure and size of the raw material itself, the most suitable style can be designed and the most beautiful meaning can be defined. This is the "skillfulness" of jade carving.

The beauty of jadeite

"Qiao" refers to the use of color. The use of color reflects the basic skills of the carving master. According to the color distribution characteristics of jade, the colors of different parts are fully utilized to highlight the harmonious beauty of jade and enhance the artistic conception.

The Essence of Jade

"Fine" refers to the exquisite craftsmanship. A high-quality jade carving is composed of details carved with every knife, and it depends on whether the lines are smooth, the proportions are harmonious, the expressions are lifelike, etc.

Jade carvers not only need good skills, but more importantly, they need to fully understand the spirit hidden inside and outside the raw stone during the creation process, and then separate the characteristics and make the best use of them; not only do they need to devote their ingenuity to every step of the design and polishing, but they also need to inject emotion into the work, so that the work can enhance its artistic value.

When you face a jade carving, I hope you can appreciate it quietly. Each piece of art is like the jade carver’s own treasure. I hope it is alive and warm in front of you, not just a string of cold numbers.

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