7000 years of Chinese jade from the collection of Sir Joseph Hotung

Apollo, Nov, 2003 by Carol Michaelson, Margaret Sax

During the Han dynasty, Chinese ideas about immortality had undergone fundamental changes. Notions about the underworld and paradises to which the dead might go were modified, such new beliefs being known as religious Daoism, an indigenous Chinese religion. The dead were no longer thought to live primarily in their tombs, but rather to go to an afterlife in paradise, so models, rather than the real things, were now placed with them and precious objects were no longer buried. Jade became closely linked with the Daoist search for immortality and the Daoist paradises were described as being luminous like translucent jade, and filled with jade immortals and animals. The belief that eating powdered jade would help mortals to reach these miraculous realms, as well as other similar beliefs, became prevalent. (9)

Prior to this period jade vessels were probably a rarity, because of the wastage involved in their manufacture and the difficulties involved in carving thin, curved walls. However, during the Tang dynasty some jade vessels were made which copied foreign gold or silver shapes, partly in an attempt to assist those who sought immortality through drinking or eating from such precious jade vessels. They were obviously very luxurious, and ownership implied great wealth and status. Many such metal vessels had been used in Buddhist ceremonies, having been introduced to China by the non-Chinese rulers of northern China during the Six Dynasties period. They were gradually adopted into secular usage by the aristocrats and elite of the Tang period. Cups in jade were thus linked with a search for immortality assisted by jade. The Hejiacun hoard featured in our exhibition 'Gilded Dragons' included several vessels in gold and silver, (10) whose shape is similar to that of this lobed dish in jade (Fig. 3). The prototypes perhaps originated further west in Iran, in gold and silver and occasionally in glass. (11) Probably by the time this jade cup was crafted its foreign origins were already obscure. As with the belts and the jewellery, the choice of jade was both a mark of high standing within the Chinese scale of values and probably also an indication of a concern with immortality, as drinking from a jade cup would transfer some of the precious, immortal essence of jade to the drinker.

[FIGURE 3 OMITTED]

Sumptuary laws in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries required that only certain people were allowed to use jade vessels, but many disregarded these rules and most of the surviving jade vessels and numerous jade ornaments date to the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) periods.

There are four main categories of later jade vessels: vessels copying silver or gold forms, as mentioned above; vessels based on ancient bronzes and jades; undecorated cups and bowls in porcelain shapes; and cups with flower like bodies or handles.

In the new Alleyne gallery, we are showing examples of all the above types of vessels. From the Song period (970-1279) the emperors, partly in order to bolster their legitimacy, printed catalogues of the imperial art collections. The Chinese had of course invented printing, and used moveable type printing from the Song period onwards. From the Ming period, the widespread use of such books with woodblock illustrations affected the manufacture of all types of utensils. These books circulated images of famous paintings, calligraphy and antiquities, as well as designs for such utensils as ink cakes and ink stones. As a result, forms and decorations developed in one material were readily copied in another. Jade carvers, no less than craftsmen working in other media, were inspired in this way.