Thumb Ring-shpaed Pendant with Phoenix Decor
Late Western Han Dynasty (ca. 86 B.C. to 8 A.D.)
Chin-hua-tang Collection

Huang Pendant with Double-dragon and Double-phoenix Decor
Middle to Late Warring States Period (ca. 400 to 221 B.C.)
Aurora foundation Collection

Jade Staff Pommel in form of Turtledove
Late Spring and Autumn Period (ca. 570 to 476 B.C.)
Lan-t'ien Shanfang Collection

1999 Collectors' Exhibiton fo Archaic Chinese Jades
Galleries 104
1999/10/10 - 2000/4/10

The "classical age" of Chinese jade encompassed a period of over six thousand years, from the Middle Neolithic to the end of the Han dynasty (ca. 6000 B.C. - A.D. 220).  The ancient Chinese developed an appreciation for the exceptional durability and luminous beauty of jade, and came to believe that the stone had a "divine" essence.  They believed that the shapes, patterns, and markings of ritual jade carvings offered them the ability to communicate with heaven.   Accordingly, the present exhibition, which features a special  selection of ancient jades from private collections, offers visitors the opportunity to better understand the particular cosmological and religious beliefs of the ancient Chinese.