exploringobjectsofdesire-blog

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Bibliography

Books:

DK Publishing. (2014). History of the world in 1,000 objects.

Hartman, J. (2012). Chinese Jade of Five Centuries. Boston: Tuttle Publishing.

Hay, J. (1985). Kernels of energy, bones of earth. New York: China Inst. in America.

Nott, S. (1962). Chinese jade through the ages. Rutland: C.E. Tuttle.

Rawson, J. and Ayers, J. (1976). Chinese jade throughout the ages. London: Oriental Ceramic Society.

Rawson, J. and Michaelson, C. (2002). Chinese jade. London: British Museum Press.

Rawson, P. and Legeza, L. (1973). Tao: the Chinese philosophy of time and change. New York: Bounty.

Wills, G. (1970). Jade. London: Mayflower Books.

Yu, M. (2011). Chinese jade. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Journals:

Fong, M. (1983). The Iconography of the Popular Gods of Happiness, Emolument, and Longevity (Fu Lu Shou). Artibus Asiae, 44(2/3), p.159.

Websites:

Art Institute of Chicago. (2000). Taoism and the Arts of China. [online] Available at: http://archive.artic.edu/taoism/renaissance/introl.php [Accessed 22 Feb. 2018].

Augustin, B. (2011). Daoism and Daoist Art. [online] The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Available at: https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/daoi/hd_daoi.htm [Accessed 13 Dec. 2017].

China Knowledge. (n.d.). Fu lu shou sanxing 福祿壽三星, the Three Stars. [online] Available at: http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature/Religion/personssanxing.html [Accessed 28 Feb. 2018].

China Sage. (n.d.). Chinese Symbolism of Nature elements. [online] Available at: http://www.chinasage.info/symbols/nature.htm [Accessed 22 Feb. 2018].

Good Luck Symbols. (n.d.). Fu Lu Shou - The Chinese Three Star Gods of Luck. [online] Available at: https://goodlucksymbols.com/fu-lu-shou/ [Accessed 28 Feb. 2018].

The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. (2004). Nature in Chinese Culture. [online] Available at: https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cnat/hd_cnat.htm [Accessed 13 Dec. 2017].

The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. (n.d.). Boulder with Daoist Paradise. [online] Available at: https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/02.18.684/ [Accessed 14 Dec. 2017].

The National Palace Museum. (n.d.). The Ingenuity of Jade Carvings. [online] Available at: https://www.npm.gov.tw/exh99/chinese_jades/en5.html [Accessed 18 Dec. 2017].

Videos:

YouTube. (2018). Edward Said On Orientalism. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVC8EYd_Z_g [Accessed 9 Dec. 2017].

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Reflections

I am really pleased with the final podcast! I think the narrative flows well, and addresses the research questions I set myself at the beginning, specifically the first two questions which I eventually narrowed down to:

What does the Jade Mountain tell us about the relationship between Chinese art and Taoist iconography?

How was Chinese art mediated through broader frameworks such as culture, cosmology, religion, philosophy, myth and belief systems? To this end, how were objects like the Jade Mountain manifested in everyday life?

It was really meaningful to engage in research around jade – it is an object that has featured in my everyday life since birth, but which I never fully grasped the full meaning of. Now I can better understand jade as an art form, as well as the rich symbolisms and associations attached to jade, particularly its inextricable link with Taoism. Picking Chinese jade as my object was useful because of its popularity in my home of Hong Kong. This meant that the public library had lots of material on it too. It was a shame that the Hong Kong museum which had a jade collection was closed down for renovation. Nevertheless, it was fascinating to visit the British Museum’s jade collection, and observe its Chinese art collection more generally. Seeing as I had a deeper understanding and appreciation of jade pieces, I found myself able to gaze at individual pieces for a lengthy period of time.

In terms of engaging with the Oriental Museum – and speaking with Rachel and Gillian in particular – it was incredibly exciting and insightful to be able to work with tangible resources, and to engage with professionals in their fields. Rachel and Gillian were extremely knowledgeable, as well as patient and helpful when it came to filming.

I also really enjoy visiting museums generally, so to gain access to museum archives and to follow the object’s provenance, journey and history through its donor, Sir Charles Harding, alongside learning about his story, was fascinating.

I enjoyed letting my creative juices flow while making the podcast; whether filming myself with Harding’s books, shooting the museum’s Qing dynasty jade collection or of course filming the objects themselves. Navigating iMovie was an experience – for example, I used tools such as reducing background noise or steadying frames, made sure that the voice-overs were aligned with their illustrations, manipulated volumes of narration and of music for a good balance, etc. I’m particularly proud of the pacing and alignment between image/video and voiceover of the podcast/

In hindsight, I think I would have paid closer attention to the camera settings to ensure that colouring/tones were the same throughout. I also think that my voice over could have been more uniform – it might have been beneficial and more professional for me to record myself in one go. But given my time and resources, overall I’m really happy with it. It was a real privilege to have taken part of this transformative module, and to be given the opportunity to work with the Oriental Museum and make this podcast.

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The final product!!! Here is my podcast on the Jade Boulder. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it. 

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22/04/2018: Other Jade Objects for Scholarly Desk

In one section of my podcast I suggest other jade objects that might be present upon a scholar’s desk, alongside my chosen object (which I suggest is likely to have been a paperweight). Here are the images which I include. All of these are my own photographs from the British Museum, and were labelled as being examples of objects on a scholar’s desk, in order of: a big brush pot, a smaller brush pot, brush stand/ink holder, and a table screen. 

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22/04/2018: Recording my Podcast - Some Notes and Observations

It’s crazy how much your voice can vary when you’re recording. I simply could not record the entire thing in one go, and inevitably some bits had to be re-recorded - it was tricky to maintain the same tone/expression in my voice to ensure uniformity! 

Something I would have done differently is film my object further away, because it turns out that the camera’s frame does not match the frame set in iMovie. Retrospectively, I would have filmed leaving wider margins around the object so that it can zoom fully into the frame without cutting anything off. Oh well, I don’t think the crop detracts from the podcast as it is too much (and hopefully the viewer will think the same)! 

I also made some tweaks to the order of my transcript to ensure that my podcast flowed. For example, I didn’t want to return to a shot of the painting of Emperor Kangxi on two separate occasions, so I reordered a section so that I fully spoke about Kangxi first before moving on. 

I also wanted to make sure I spoke very clearly, articulately and steadily. It was helpful to ensure that my podcast transcript was within the word limit I set myself of under 1200 words. 

It was helpful to show a few of my friends my podcast, particularly to see if the narrative flows. One of my friend aptly pointed out that he was unsure what a ‘ruyi’ sceptre was (Ruyi is a curved decorative object that serves as a ceremonial sceptre in Chinese Buddhism or a talisman symbolising power and good fortune in Chinese folklore) - since I didn’t have time in my podcast to explain ‘ruyi’, I cut it out and just said ‘sceptre’. 

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21/04/2018: Final Podcast Transcript!

Podcast Transcript

120 = one minute. Max – 960 words….

[HQ pictures of jade boulder] This beautifully carved jade boulder originates from the Qing Dynasty, which lasted from 1644 to 1911. This piece was made in the 1700s under the reign of Emperor Kangxi, and depicts a mountainous landscape, with three Taoist Gods being worshipped. It is made of nephrite, and measures 20.5 cm high. Listen on as we unravel the intimate connections this object has with Taoism, jade and art.

[Oriental museum qing dynasty section?]The Qing Dynasty, known as the Age of Prosperity, is considered to have produced some of the most splendid jade pieces.

The flourishing of carvings was emperor-led, beginning with Kangxi. [Picture of Kangxi]

Kangxi, and his successors, became great patrons of the arts, as they recognised the intellectual, spiritual and material strength of the people. Emperor Kangxi increased China’s prosperity by opening ports for trade, and the conquest of East Turkistan further gave imperial courts access to Khotan nephrite mines. As such, carving techniques became highly sophisticated, and ambitious pieces, like this boulder, were accomplished.

[Video of me talking with his log] How did this piece arrive at the Oriental Museum in the first place? The donor, Sir Charles Harding, was a prolific jade collector [zoom in on Harding’s log] and purchased this in 1935 London for £15. [zoom back out - holding/typing on calculator] This sum equates to £700 today - a significant amount for a collector known to be frugal, which indicates the exceptional value of the piece.  

[picture of BM jade block] Highly revered by the Chinese, Jade ranks above all materials, even gold. Jade is beautiful and sonorous, with subtle and translucent colours, and yet is harder than steel.  Such qualities promoted spiritual dimensions and attracted Taoist contemplation.  [video of the word Tao] Tao can roughly be translated into ‘the way’, which explores the nature of the cosmos and the path to enlightenment, resulting in longevity and immortality. According to Taoism, the natural world is a complex arrangement of elements that are continuously changing and interacting, where man is advised to follow nature’s rhythms.

The boulder’s mountainous landscape is a visual representation of the Taoist belief that Earth is a living body, reflecting both the divine cosmos and the inner human body, invoking both macrocosm and microcosm. [black and white picture of big jade boulder encased in stone] Since mountains were considered dwellings of immortals, jade extracted from rocks and mountains, were associated with immortality and Taoist paradise. During the Qing dynasty, jade carvings closely related to traditional painting, drawing from similar subject matters and style. These scroll paintings    reveal fascinating parallels. [Scroll 2] Craftsmen treated jade as if it were porcelain or paper, translating popular images, like mountainous landscapes, into three-dimensional carvings. [Scroll 2 zoom in on boulder shapes + carved bands of rock and layered terrains of jade boulder] The perspective created by unfolding layers of hills can be seen in the jade boulder, through carved bands of rock and layered terrains. The irregularly shaped contours, like that of the jade boulder, increases a sense of naturalism. [Scroll 1 leading up pathway + boulder leading up to pathway] In both the painting and the boulder, a twisting pathway immersively leads the viewers’ eye to a temple. Blocky, inky outlines of rocks in paintings are mimicked by deep angular carvings into jade. Detailed patterns of brushwork on paper translate into shallow marks scored against the jade. [zoom in scroll painting lighter tones + zoom on discolouration in jade boulder] While carvers cannot manipulate tonalities like painters can, they can still take advantage of surface discolouration. Here, the carver manipulated brown colourations to form the edges of rocks or trees, to increase realism.  

Subject to little foreign influences, jade carvings have stayed remarkably true to traditional themes, like the boulder’s Taoist iconography. Let’s take a closer look.

These three figures are referred to as the three-star gods – san xing. They are called Fú, the god of fortune, Lù, the God of status, and Shòu, the god of longevity. [zoom in on individuals?]

[insert picture of three guys]

1. Fú xing refers to the auspicious star, Jupiter, and is associated with the Taoist myth of [Picture of Yang Cheng?] Yang Cheng, a governor during Tang Dynasty, who risked his life by writing to the emperor to stop cruelly and forcefully taking in dwarf slaves as court jesters. Yang Cheng is thus seen as protector of good fortune and happiness. He is generally depicted in scholar's dress, holding a scroll, or holding a child.

2. Lu Xing refers to the Ursa Majoris, and alludes to salary and social status. Lu was considered to dictate success in imperial examinations, and thus career success in the bureaucracy. He is usually depicted in the dress of a mandarin, holding a ru-yi sceptre. [picture of duz guy]

3. Shòu Xing refers to longevity. Legend has it, he was carried in his mother's womb for ten years and was already an old man when delivered. He is recognized by his high, domed forehead and the peach he carries as a symbol of immortality. [picture of duz guy]

These popular star-gods represented attributes of a good life and are popularly depicted in many other traditional art forms, [pic] including hanging silks, [pic] embroidered panels, and [pic]ceramics.

We now turn to the deer or stag, considered to live 2000 years and represent immortality. Animals have been seen to provide contact with the spirit world across many dynasties. [pic of jade deer in British Museum] This jade deer, for example, dates back to the Song dynasty (AD 900-1300).

[pic?/Zoom in on jade boulder – bamboo, plum and pine] bamboo, plum and pine are often pictorially combined and known as the ‘three friends’. Bamboo stands for longevity, plum for good luck and pine for endurance. They are also seen to represent the complementing doctrines of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism.

[on top of jade boulder- zoom from top tip down] According to Taoism, the mountain’s peak connects heaven and earth, bringing together human and celestial realms. [Zoom in on Taoist temple] Taoist temples reinforce sacredness, [zoom in on caverns and grottos] and caverns and grottoes are seen as gateways to the spirit world. The steps up the mountain represent the spiritual journey that brings pilgrims and followers closer to heavens.  

[yin yang photo] One cannot talk about Taoist art without mentioning yin and yang – the idea of opposites combined to achieve harmony. For example, yin and yang can be conceived as female and male. [translucent peace of paperHere, the boulder’s kidney-shape is yin - symbolic of a female vulva, harmonised with yang, the male substance of jade and mountain.

Taoist tradition reveals how spirituality transcends outward appearances. This jade mountain was not merely for aesthetic enjoyment, but for lifting the spirit into a higher state. It is likely that it once sat as a paper weight on a scholar’s desk, [brush pot photo] perhaps combined with other jade writing objects like brush pots [table screen photo] and table screens. This miniature world allowed owners not only to show off status, but to momentarily escape daily life and become wrapped in outer and inner peace by communing with nature. Throughout Taoist history, mountains are referred to as places where one can meditate, pursue alchemy, and encounter immortals and gods.

[spin video] This jade boulder gives us a perfect window into Taoist philosophy, Chinese art forms, and everyday life during the Qing dynasty. It reflects just how deeply the love for nature penetrated into the hearts of many.

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20/04/2018: Filming Day

Today I went to film my object at the Oriental Museum. I found that everything was all ready and set up for me - objects on the table, backdrops put up, revolving surface to spin my object, camera holders/stands... filming turned out to be very efficient, professional and easy, with big thanks to Rachel and Gillian for all their help! 

I was really happy with the gradient backdrop that was set up as this really brings out 3D pieces on screen. 

I also filmed myself holding Charles Harding’s collection record book, in talking about the acquisition of the object. I thought this might make for a dynamic and engaging frame in my podcast rather than simply a shot of the object. Took about 3 takes, with some expected flusters! Rachel also kindly agreed to film over my shoulder on to the page with my object recorded (so that the viewer could see his records for him/herself). 

I thought filming a collection within the museum itself would make for another varied and engaging shot. I had a wonder around to see what might be relevant (I didn’t want to film a random collection for the sake of it). Lo and behold - the encased collection of jade objects from the Qing dynasty provided the perfect illustration for my point on the splendid jade that was produced during the period! 

Some struggles I faced during filming was the manually spinning platform. While this allowed me to spin around the object to film it 360 degrees, giving me some great shots, I had to be careful to spin it steadily at a consistent speed, to avoid rickety footage. Making sure my finger wasn’t in the shot proved tricky as well! After looking at my footage when I was back home, I also annoyingly found that the camera settings I had on for the revolving shots were slightly different to the rest of my footage, which changed the tonality/lighting of the shots (so that they did not look the same colour as the images I had, and the other frames I filmed) - ah well, hopefully I’ll be able to remedy that with tweaking colouration and settings on iMovie. 

I also filmed the scrolls - which involved climbing a ladder, attaching a camera to a holder and positioning the piece of paper correctly. Very exciting. Gillian helped to unroll  the scrolls to allow me to film - some of them were incredibly delicate! Some of the backings were slightly crumpled. I asked Gillian about whether it was possible to change the backing to avoid crumpling, and she explained to me that due to their delicate nature, those who owned such scrolls would have only unfolded them for guests/special occasions - otherwise they are stashed in a safe and dry location. Owners would have also likely changed the backing intermittently - but because the museum wishes to preserve the original essence of the scrolls, they tend not to change the backing simply because it is crumpled. 

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17/04/2018: Podcast in the Process

I finally found a map of Khotan (or Hotan, as it turns out) nephrite mines - this was to demonstrate my point of the Qing Dynasty gaining access to this area of East Turkestan after conquest. It was tricky to find this picture because others online were far too complicated and aesthetically displeasing, particularly when the frame will only be on for a few seconds - too little time for the viewer to digest a complicated map! 

I also found this piece from the Oriental Museum (DUROM.1966.52.3) to depict the part when I talk about possible usages of the jade boulder, i.e. as a paper weight upon a scholar’s desk. I have emailed Rachel to see if she could send me a high definition image of it. 

I have further requested for a high-res image of this table screen (DUROM.2017.55) to demonstrate another example for usages of jade on a scholar’s desk. 

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16/04/2018: Picture I’ll be using in my podcast for the star god Fu Xing - it is sourced from the British Museum online collection. I thought this was fitting seeing as several of my other comparative objects are also sourced from the British Museum. 

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12/04/2018: Drafting Script - Rationale for form and content

The form and content can be summarised as follows:

1) Context (Qing dynasty, Emperor Kangxi)

2) Charles Harding (about the donor of the object)

3) Introduction of Taoism (talking about it relevance to the object)

4) Technique: Parallels between paintings and sculpture (talking about technique)

5) Focussing on symbolism (zooming in on the three star gods, deer/stag, etc to explore Taoist iconography)

6) Significance of Yin and Yang

7) Possible uses of the object

So, overall my podcast aims to contextualise the object, zoom into more specific aspects of the boulder, then broaden and abstract it to the importance of yin and yang, and finally suggest possible uses of the object.

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11/04/2018: Comparative pieces at the Oriental Museum for the Three Star Gods

Object number DUROM.1960.918. Wooden carving of Shou xing (God of Longevity) seated on a stag. The peach in his hand, the stag and the gourd all allude to longevity. 

Object number: DUROM.1969.242. The figure is holding a Ruyi sceptre in his left hand. The figure is probably the God of Fortune/God of Affluence (Lu xing). 

Unfortunately I can’t seem to find the third star god - Fu Xing. However, I intend on using this image as a comparison of the three gods together. This is a particularly good image because they depict very typical portrayals of the three gods (Fu Xing holding a baby, Shou Xing with his peach, and Lu Xing with his scepter 

Source: Austin Auction (https://www.austinauction.com/items/-3-chinese-porcelain-figures-three-star-gods-1773020)

I also want to highlight examples of how the three star Gods were popularly depicted in other art forms (e.g. hanging scroll paintings, porcelain and embroidered panels), and have found some more examples from the Oriental Museum. 

DUROM.1969.150.a 

DUROM.1980.97 

DUROM.U513 

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10/04/2018: Taking a Step Back

Up until this point, I have consulted a wide range of resources, including  museum archives, galleries, object information and brochures; journal articles; books; websites; chats with the Oriental Museum’s curators... I have noted down findings that are relevant to my original research questions (What does the Jade Mountain tell us about the relationship between Chinese art and Taoist iconography? How was Chinese art mediated through broader frameworks such as culture, cosmology, religion, philosophy, myth and belief systems? To this end, how were objects like the Jade Mountain manifested in everyday life?). These questions were deliberately broad, as I wanted to give myself a wide scope prior to really delving into the research. However, in thinking ahead about putting together a transcript, I think it would be helpful to take a step back and draw out the various strands (below) that I have found from my research, so that my research questions can be answered in a more specific manner. 

Context: why did jade carvings flourish under the Qing dynasty, how did the patronage and rule of Kangxi contribute to this? 

Lifestyle: Why did the artist choose to depict a mountain? Linking Taoist thinking, what were broader significances of mountains and the link with spirituality? What might the jade boulder have been used for, and how might it have bene interpreted?

Taoist iconography: symbolism of plants and animals and the Three Stars.

Formal and technical qualities: How do jade sculptures fit into wider artistic traditions (e.g. scroll paintings)? How is jade manipulated to suit the artist’s purpose?

Stepping back like this has definitely been helpful in distilling my research in my head into a more coherent and concise narrative! Now on to preparing a transcript! 

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08/04/2018: A Collection of Quotes

Throughout my research I have been collecting quotes on the nature of Taoism in an effort to understand it better. I found the quotes below particularly illuminating:

On the relationship between Taoism and Nature: 

“In ordinary life, we are not aware of the unity of all things, but divide the world into separate objects and events. This division is useful and necessary to cope with our everyday environment, but it is not a fundamental feature of reality. It is an abstraction devised by our discriminating and categorising intellect. To believe that our abstract concepts of separate ‘things’ and ‘events’ are realities of nature is an illusion.” (Capra, The Tao of Physics, 1975)

“The most important characteristic of the Eastern world view - one could almost say the essence of it - is the awareness of the unity and mutual interrelation of all things and events, the experience of all phenomena in the world as manifestations of a basic oneness. All things are seen as interdependent and inseparable parts of this cosmic whole; as different manifestations of the same ultimate reality.” (Fritjof Capra, The Tao of Physics, 1975)

On Taoism and Art: 

“Certain Chinese philosophers writing in, perhaps, the -5thand -4th centuries, explained ideas and a way of life that have come to be known as Taoism - the way of man’s cooperation with the course or trend of the natural world, whose principles we discover in the flow patterns of water, gas, an fire, which are subsequently memorialized or sculptured in those of stone and wood, and, later, in many forms of human art. What they had to say is of immense importance for our own times when in the +20thcentury, we are realizing that our efforts to rule nature by technical force and “straighten it out” may have the most disastrous results.” (From Alan Watts: Tao: The Watercourse Way, Pantheon Books, 1975, xiv)

On the Taoist way of Life: 

“Those who know don’t talk. Those who talk don’t know. Close your mouth, block off your senses, blunt your sharpness, untie your knots, soften your glare, settle your dust. This is the primal identity. Be like the Tao. It can’t be approached or withdrawn from, benefited or harmed, honored or brought into disgrace. It gives itself up continually. That is why it endures.” (Lao Tzu)

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7/04/2018: Visit to the British Museum (Part 3)

Moving away from the sections relevant to the Qing dynasty, I had a look at other periods and Chinese art forms to find comparative aspects to the jade boulder. In the ‘Animals and humans’ section, I found that from the time of the Han dynasty (206 BC to AD 220), animals were believed to provide contact  with the spirit world. Animals carved in jade were seen as especially powerful, as jade is associated with immortality because of translucency, colour and indestructible quality. The deer (pictured), dating from the Song dynasty (AD 900 – 1300), was associated with immortality, and the small stars engraved probably represent the heavens.

I proceeded to visit the China/South Asia collection, which provided some interesting points of comparison through different art forms. This painting ‘Reading in the Autumn Forest’, for example, a painting of Mount Baiyue. The composition unfolds layer upon layer through multiple perspectives, creating an immersive effect that was a feature of Chinese painting. This is much like the jade boulder which has layers of carved mountainous terrains, contributing to the three-dimensional and realistic effect. The painting’s detailed mark and brush strokes can similarly be seen in the intricate and clear-cut engravings on the jade boulder.

I also found further evidence that suggests that the original usage of the jade boulder may have been for intellectual or writing purposes. This collection of objects all come from the Qing dynasty, and depict miniature worlds of mountains. These idealised miniature worlds allowed their owners to momentarily escape the responsibilities of daily work and family life. Perhaps to paint a richer picture of how a scholar’s room may have looked like, miniature trees were grown in basins, and special rocks were  collected, as extnsions fo this desire to harness nature and incorporate it into the domestic realm.

I looked up the item on the British Museum item on the online collection database, and the curator’s comments were as follows:

Small representations of mountains signified the retreat of the scholar from official life and offered the alternatives of a hermit's existence or of individual expression in the face of strong government bureaucracy. Such mountains were also seen as a route to paradise. But the paradise beyond is not an out-worldly paradise filled with angels, as described in the Western world; it is a land with a calmer, better life, a more archaic version of the present life. Daoism viewed the natural world, especially mountains, as the home of immortals. 

The bamboo carving of mountain bears many similarities in shape, size and subject to the jade boulder.

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7/04/2018: Visit to the British Museum (Part 2)

I found that during the Ming and Qing dynasties in particular, jade carving was intimately linked with painting traditions. Craft workers began to treat jade as if it were a piece of paper – decorating jade with detailed images of animals, birds, flowers, pepple and landscapes, creating intricate visual effects. Themes were wide-ranging and often used traditional subjects, from the Eight Immortals – as in the case of our jade boulder – to portrayals of agricultural scenes and silk cultivation.

Whereas previously, the function and qualities of jade were more important, it was now the imagery that mattered.  Subject matter, composition and style were all taken from paintings. Some pieces in particular caught my eye:

1. Jade brush pot (Qing dynasty, 1700-1800)

Depicts landscape and scenes of farming life, as if drawn from an agricultural manual. A fascinating device is that the scenes are divided by bands of rock – a device used in paintings and prints as well. The artist used carving techniques to produce deeply scored lines similar ot angular lines used to depict rocks in ink.

2. Jade brush pot formed as a section of a pine tree (Qing dynasty, 1600-1700)

The pot is carved with pine trees and lingzhi fungus, both symbolising long life.

Many of the exhibited jade pieces, such as brush pots, brush washers and paperweights, were suggested to be scholars’ desk items. It is likely that our jade boulder served as a paperweight on a scholar’s desk!

5. Table Screen (Qing dynasty, 1700-1800)

I found this piece to be the most similar to the jade boulder. Like the three-dimensionality of the jade boulder, this screen is carved on both sides with mountainous landscapes, probably based on a woodbloc illustration. One side is sa setting for the Eight Immortals (legendary figures of Daoist folklore who became immortal through understanding Nature’s secrets). Above the scene, on a mounted crane, is the god of long life, Shou Xing.

The gallery really showed me the sheer diversity of decorative jade carvings that were popular during the Ming and Qing dynasties, from brush holders and plaques to table screens – and boulders! Despite these diverse forms, many of them depicted similar traditional subjects.

I’m usually the one judging visitors for taking selfies in galleries, but how the tables have turned… who knew I could get this excited and let go of all shame for a jade collection?

Although I did ask another kind visitor to help me take a proper photo in the end.

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7/04/2018: Back in London: A Visit to the British Museum (Part 1)

Although it was certainly a disappointment to find that the HK Contemporary Museum of Art was closed for renovation, but I was still determined to visit another museum collection. After flying back to London, I went to the British Museum to visit the Chinese jade collection (inside the Selwyn and Ellie Alleyne Gallery) as well as the China and South Asia collection (in the Sir Joseph Hotung Gallery).

I couldn’t resist taking some snaps outside the British Museum because it was such a lovely day! 

The collection here spanned an impressive 7000 years of Chinese jade carvings, from 5000 BC to the present. Walking through the gallery’s corridor was like walking through a historical and descriptive narrative, going from information on methods of jade carving and jade as a material, then going through each age of jade.

The information on methods of jade carving was particularly interesting, because the British Museum did their own research by analysing ‘tool marks’ under a microscope. This revealed that jades were usually worked by methods of abrasion, repetitively using tools with fine sands harder than jade to wear down the surface. During the period of 1750-1900 in particular (our period in question), rotary tools were used; that is, wheels and drills were mounted on lathes and rotated by jade carvers with foot treadles. Perhaps such methods were employed in the making of our Jade boulder?

The gallery also offered a general overview of jade as a material – the stones are often shades of green or white, but may also be of other brilliant colours, like turquoise or rock crystal. Jade is scientifically restricted to two silicate minerals: nephrite (like our jade boulder) and jadeite.

Above are photos of uncarved pieces of jade. 

I then made a beeline for the Ming/Qing dynasty section…

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25/03/2018: (A non-visit to the) Hong Kong Museum of Contemporary Art

I was really excited to visit the jade collection at the HKMCA… alas, I have just found out that it is closed for renovation until 2019. Quite disappointed but we can work through this.

Besides, as Lao Tzu would say: “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like." - Lao Tzu

Therefore we’re going with the flow! Tomorrow I leave to London...