A Wonderful 100 % In-Situ Warring States Period (475 – 221 BCE) Bi

Dimensions: 44mm Diameter X 8mm Depth

This masterfully carved Bi is one of the earliest Bis we have ever seen seen with a true Royal Dragon and Feng Huang (Phoenix)design, carved as its frontal motif, the Most Sacred Dragon of the East and the Feng Huang (Red Bird of the South).  It is our belief that while Dragons and the Feng Huang appeared much earlier in Neolithic period designs, and down through history, it was truly around the latter part of the Eastern Zhou Period that the dual design was used almost exclusively as the primary symbol designating Royalty, and has carried through until this very day. This Bi has been in our personal collection for years, and was shown at The “Jade Art Now Show” in Tucson, Arizona in 2007, 2008 and 2009. I personally wore this Bi for over two years; as the colors of the Bi, along with the original intent of the “Master” who designed it, and the Master Carver and polisher who created it, it was, to me, a bit of absolute perfection in a pendant-sized piece. With the worn, spiraling “s” patterns on the back, or what the Chinese often call the “tadpole” pattern, this Bi was almost certainly used in a Spring Ritual concerning the coming of rain, and therefore the beginning of the planting season.

The most incredible part of this magnificent Bi is the fact that originally, it was two distinct shades of green nephrite jade, with varying amounts of iron being the ‘contaminant’ that caused the differing shades of green at the time the stone was first formed, miles below the earth’s surface . The currently darker red half of the Bi would have previously been a deep green, with the higher iron content, while the lighter side would have originally been more of a “celadon” colored green, having less iron.  It would have been the “Master” who chose this particular stone, most likely to represent what we think of now as the Yin/Yang of life, but which has been known more universally as the duality of life symbol, embraced and used by cultures all over the globe. The small, but at one time perfectly-carved ‘tadpoles’ are difficult to discern on the back side of this Bi in the picture above, because of the erosion that has taken place during the course of its ‘life’. The peculiar effect of the dual oxidations and depths to which they degraded would most certainly be the result of an extreme amount of water and oxygen passing nearly continuously over the Bi from almost the time of its original burial.  The red, oxidized coloring is well known in Warring States Burial Jades where water has either seeped into the tomb gradually, or flooded in because of a catastrophic event such as the collapse of a beam structure in the old tombs (which could allow a sealed beam roof to cave in and water to enter and fill the tomb, as in the case of the Marquis Yi’s Tomb) . However, this oxidation always seems to leave a slighter depth of approximately 3-4mm, even when the jades are degraded through in their softer parts to a much deeper level; indeed even all through a piece as wide as 10mm. The difference in the case of this Bi , with a total depth of 8mm, is that it is totally permeated in the darker reddish areas and has no accompanying degradation by soil penetration to the Bi, as it certainly would in a regular funeral piece. This Bi has never been re-tooled or re-cut in any way, and the surface remains as it was originally found before we acquired it. Even the approximate 1mm rim on the back-side edge of this masterfully created Bi is still fully intact in places. All degradation to the exterior is natural, and was not acid or alkali-etched, nor was it burnt with a torch. The only cause for its current condition that we could ever find was due to the presumed fact that while it had been buried in antiquity along with other objects, it must have been alongside a river, which was not an uncommon practice of the era. Over the ages, the river most likely changed and followed another course which took it over the burial grounds, where this Bi lay. With a static submersion of water, as in the case of a submerged tomb, we would expect to find the water necessary to degrade the iron inside the green nephrite to a red oxidized state, but along with this water would also come silt, and silt always penetrates the tightly fibered, but porous nephrite as the surface degrades, leaving the degraded portions with a grey silt penetration. In the case with this Bi, it seems far more likely that it was this running water, which would carry the necessary oxygen for the oxidation process to occur, and still keep the silt from building up and penetrating deeply into the nephrite, that created the circumstances to bring about this effect, which we have examined for years under microscopic conditions.

All Pictures Above Taken with Canon EOS XSI Using EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Lens

This photograph shows us a marvelous picture of how the darker red half looks from a side view. The depth of the darker red degraded and iron-oxidized section appears to be smooth, and while a bit worn and chipped on the edges, it still looks to be in fine condition for an artifact that has undergone some extreme conditions for millennia. This is also a great photograph to show the Dragon and Feng Huang were ‘air symbols’, and not ‘water symbols’, as we do not see the familiar undulating patterns through the water in this side view, but rather a steady continuity of raised design through masterful relief carving. Also, some portions of the original darker green nephrite are still barely visible in the lower right section seen in the photograph. While this Bi looks to the naked eye to be a wonderful solid nephrite structure, we will see in the following close-ups a type of “Khotan” nephrite that is rarely discussed, as it is commonly assumed that all nephrite from this area is of the same quality and structure.

Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSi Using Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5X Lens at 1X

In this photograph, we see a large portion of the Feng Huang (Red Bird’s head seen in center of photo) side of the Bi, which is the darker of the two sides. The Dragon side of the Bi was finished from the lighter celadon-colored nephrite. While this wonderful specimen still appears to be a rather solid piece of nephrite, with the usual degradation and losses associated with a long-term burial object,  the lack of deep ‘calcification’ (degradation) that should accompany a burial item of approximately 2,300 years can be easily discerned. The red oxidation of the portions of darker green nephrite shows up very clearly, and in the lower right corner of the photograph, one can start to see the minute actinolite fibers that are associated with this particular variation of Khotan jade. While there exist some “flowing river” structural sections of nephrite, much like what is seen in Kutcho and Polar Jades from British Columbia, and are found in many of the Khotan nephrites, this particular stone is mainly comprised of a very short crystalline structure, which gives it an almost ‘ice crystal’ effect when degraded, and viewed under magnification. This will become more evident in pictures to follow as the magnification increases. What is of particular note here is the fact that while the degradation has definitely taken place, there lacks the deep soil penetration that accompanies other true burial artifacts, and we firmly believe it is because the Bi was constantly being washed and abraded during most of its life by flowing water. This would account for the abundant supply of water, oxygen, and abrasive materials needed to produce this exact effect of oxidation and degradation we see on this particular artifact.

Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSi Using MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5X Lens at 1X

This photograph shows the reverse side of the Warring States Period Bi and the familiar “S”, “comma”, or ‘tadpole’ patterns, as known by the Chinese. Note the rounded edges on all the tadpole patterns, as would be expected in a 100%  in-situ Bi of this period. When one finds sharper edges on the tadpole patterns, it is usually from replication, as in the case of a modern reproduction, or often times this occurs if a true artifact has been re-cut and re- polished. The main challenge, then, is to find the place where the person who re-cut and re-polished the item missed a portion, and then also find the original tooling marks or degradation underneath the new markings. In this photo it is again extremely clear the lack of deep soil penetration, the consistent wear found on a true artifact, and the same crystalline structure to the Khotan nephrite as seen in the previous photograph.

Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSi using Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5X Lens at 3X

This photo taken at 3X through our Macro lens shows very well how consummate a nephrite carver this Master was over 2,000 years ago. Using only the most rudimentary treadle-wheel drilling technology and  hand-made tools, the lines and flow of this exquisite piece were so precisely executed as to rival the finest of modern day artists working with exacting technology and the finest of diamond tools. Just below the swirling portion of the lower section of the end of the Dragon’s bifurcated tail, we can see the crystalline degradation to the Dragon’s clawed toes, as well as in the surrounding areas. This  is right at the transition zone where the dark green nephrite met the more celadon-colored nephrite, and it contributes to the stunning overall effect. The lack of soil deposits and the fact that all discoloration is coming from the degradation and oxidation of the iron within,  is becoming more and more apparent.

Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSi Using 35X Microscopic Power

This photograph taken at 35X power with the microscope shows the face of Feng Huang (Phoenix) and the almost complete loss of detail experienced at high magnification. We can now see extremely clearly the actinolite fibers and their small structures on this type of nephrite jade from Khotan, or the Black or White Jade River region. Only in this type of Khotan nephrite jade do we see these miniature actinolite fibers over almost the entire surface. Soon we will be  doing an article on the four different basic types of Khotan nephritic structures, and the variations within them at the microscopic level. Again, the lack of soil penetration from long term burial is clearly seen, and demonstrates why we believe this artifact to be river worn to such a degree. The fuzzy area in the middle of the picture comes from the depth of field when using the microscope along with the camera. If we were to bring into clear focus the top (fuzzy) portion of the Feng Huang’s head, the remainder of the picture would then become fuzzy.

Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSi Using 35X Microscopic Power

This photograph takes us inside one of the design holes of the section that was created in the celadon-colored half of the nephrite jade Dragon and Feng Huang Bi. It shows the traces of one of the three remaining original drill marks on the right side of the bottom of the hole. With the extreme weathering from constant moving water and sediment, it is practically a miracle that any such traces remain after so long a period of time, and further attests to the toughness of nephrite jade and its association with being the true “Stone of Heaven”. This wonderful specimen was left entirely untouched and un-oiled as even my old body oils were removed prior to photographing, with a quick scrub with tub & tile cleaner and a toothbrush. Every picture shown has been under “honest” conditions, and the colors shown have been as true as could be humanly portrayed, without alteration or augmentation of any kind.

Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSi Using 35X Microscopic Power

This final photograph shows the inside of the very small hole in this Bi. In proportion to what is usually expected in a Bi of this period, this Bi may have had a specific purpose of which we are unaware, or is currently lost in history. It might have been originally a piece of jewelry, or may have been used as a travel piece for worship while away from one’s home. Whatever its exact purpose was, it is clear that the Master who created this phenomenally well-proportioned Bi, and gave it the original polish with such intrinsic skill, intentionally drilled the hole entirely from one side only, as can be detected from the two remaining slight imperfections that are left to us to examine over 2,000 years later. One of these slight “dips” can be seen in the photo above at the midway section of the photograph. On the front side of the Bi, the hole contours in a slightly convex manner by intention. On the back of this Bi, the artist left himself a rounded little circle of a convex nature to complete his design. All in all, it is one very impressive piece of Warring States Genius, and has been an extreme pleasure to own and to wear.

David Fredericks  – Yulongwei — Phone: 520-991-2153 (USA)

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A Wonderful Shang Period  (1,700-1,100BC) Green Nephrite Jade Kneeling Royal Pendant

Dimensions:  76mm Height X 32mm Width X 33mm Depth

Provenance: Ang Ngo Gan Collection. We are extremely proud to be named the official Authenticators and Curators for the Ang Family of California and their wondrous grouping of jade artifacts.  All the pieces we are representing were brought into the United States in 1950 by the Grandfather of Marilou Ang; Mr. Ang Ngo Gan, originally from Ching Kang, China, near Amoy, during the ‘Period of Confusion’.  He was a restaurateur and business man in California, and his collection is now represented by Antiquities, Plus… through his granddaughter Marilou Ang and her husband Richard Evangelista.

Before we present our articles that will be displaying re-polished artifacts and items showing real pieces and the modern replications made off of them, we will first be continuing with several more publications on 100% In-Situ, authentic items. In this exquisite green nephrite Shang Period pendant of a kneeling Royal, we find many true indicators of age that are impossible to fake even by the best of the replicators, in their famous museum-quality reproductions (Gao Fang’s). Most of the finest modern reproductions are now being made with weathered serpentine, that while having almost the right feel of weight to them and a wonderful, natural, red coloring to the stone from oxidation of the iron mineral in them, they are still not nephrite jade, even though some of them could easily be called a semi-jade, as they had originally come from the the transition zone where the nephrite and serpentine meet. The stone in this Shang Period artifact is indeed a wonderful darker green Nephrite jade, and would have come from either the Black or the White Jade River areas in modern Turkanistan. This is a wonderful area for nephrite, and produces some of the most beautiful nephritic material in the world. Soon, we will be doing an article on the different structural types from the  ‘Khotan”  area. Stylistically, this piece shows many of the traits commonly associated with known archaeologically substantiated Shang Period artifacts and clothing styles, most notably the “false relief” created by drilling and wheel-cutting into the nephrite without actually removing all the surrounding material, to produce a true relief (shown best in the clothing designs on the sides of the kneeler, and in the structure of the ears). Also, with this piece having been being carved “in the round”, it shows a continuity with the Neolithic Period designs which preceded this era, but had started to become less anthropo zoomorphic and more realistic in nature. We also see during this period a more pronounced transition; many flatter religious carvings started to become more common, and the figures in the round became more rare.

Above Photos Taken with Canon EOS XSi & Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Lens

While the surface of this jade figure looks smooth and shiny to the eye in the above photographs, we will see quite the opposite in the photographs that follow. The object shows absolutely no signs of any re-polishing under magnification up to 90X. The shiny exterior look to the item most likely comes from being out of the ground for a substantial period of time, and the subsequent polishing and smoothing associated with hands touching the artifact in reverence, as was almost always the custom in China. The natural body oils from fondling the stone over an extended period have actually entered into the porous nephrite over the years, and could not be removed even after a two week bath in acetone. No recent wax residues were encountered, which would have turned white as new waxes do, while five-hundred-year-old Ming Dynasty waxes are so hardened, and have penetrated the stone so deeply and thoroughly, as to almost become one with the stone; so it is also with old body oils. To further insure the integrity of the artifact and its natural patina, a similar “bath” in bleach was performed, and a short bath in oxalic acid was also undertaken to make sure no baked-on shoe polishes or other such materials were used. The artifact remained the same when we were finished as it was before we started. All reddish areas on the stone are natural oxidation of the iron in the nephrite, and intrusions from iron-rich soils, much like the Han Dynasty Bi in our last article. Also, it is interesting to note in this figure the intentional use of a small portion of “celadon” colored nephrite in the original stone, used for the front protrusion on the hat, and the natural oxidation to the reddish/orange color.

Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSI Using Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5X Lens at 1X

This photograph of the “bull nosed” suspension holes on the top of the hat of the Shang Dynasty kneeler shows with great clarity the naturally cracked nephrite and the oxidation that occurred over millennia of burial. Also to be seen are two of the nephritic characteristics of “Khotan” jade in particular. As mentioned before, we will be writing an article soon on the differing structures found in nephrite from this area, complete with photographic studies, but in short, the top portion of the photo (above the suspension holes) shows a delineation of large nephritic “crystals” (similar in make up to Lake Tai Variegated Nephrite), while the bottom half, below the fracture line, shows the “flowing river” nephritic structure that seems more often associated with fracture lines in “rough” pieces from this area, and in true burial objects. This fracture line extends across the entire hat and down both sides of the head, splits off into triangular sections around both ears and joins up again as more of a singular line in the neck area and under the chin of the figure. The fracture has never gone completely through, and the structural integrity of the kneeling figure is still sound, but the pendant most likely should not  be worn again, and kept for display purposes only. After thousands of years of freezing and thawing, natural penetration of seeping waters, and tectonic movements, the fracture site has been affected most at its weakest spot, where it meets at the suspension hole. It is here we find the widest, most degraded and most oxidized portion of the fracture.

Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSi Under 35X Microscopic Power

In the above photograph we see a closer view of the degradation to one edge of the suspension hole in the top of the hat on the Shang Period figure. The iron oxides become much more defined under the higher magnification, and the depth of the degradation can be more easily discerned.  This deeper degradation occurs most often in areas that have natural fissures and the water can penetrate deeper into the nephrite. Also, the fact that this portion of the figure had the most pressure applied while drilling out the suspension hole (as occurs even in all new works of nephrite carving), and the fact that the suspension holes were rarely polished, explains why the deepest original tooling marks can often be found inside the suspension holes. The grit sizes used when drilling the holes (and “roughing” out a carving in general) were naturally coarser, and left deeper ‘damage zones’ where the micro-structure under the surface of the nephrite gets shattered. This allows degradation of the nephrite to occur more quickly, relatively speaking, and more deeply over extended periods of burial, along with easier penetration of water and soil ‘”contaminants” into the microscopically fractured nephrite. The other anomaly we find is that inside the suspension holes, this occurs less readily than on the surface portions, and is most likely due to the suspension holes filling up with silt, which over time, actually tends to lessen the effect and helps to preserve the original tooling marks inside the holes. This photograph also shows well, at the higher magnification, the original weathered surface of the figure, with no new polishing grooves on the outside of the carving.

Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSi at 35X Microscopic Power

This photograph was taken inside of one of the suspension holes and shows very clearly the tooling marks from drilling, as discussed in the last paragraph. The deeper individual grooves are formed when new, coarse grit is applied. The new coarse grit cuts a deeper groove into the nephrite as the drill spins around, and eventually starts to wear down much as the grit on a piece of sandpaper gets smaller and less abrasive as the sandpaper is used. When the grit starts to lose its “cutting power”, it makes a smaller grove in the nephrite, and when fresh heavier grit is added, it makes the grooves deeper again. This is the cause of the alternating depths we see in the photo. [The new replicators are very aware of this technique  and have for years drilled pieces with modern diamond tools and then gone back over them with traditional methods to add the "old drill" marks onto a newly made piece. The white areas we see in this photograph are natural "calcification", which is actually degradation to nephrite jade. The current replicators often strive for this effect using a very highly acidic or extremely base alkali bath. However, this usually results in all the tooling marks being destroyed in the process, and with the serpentine stones that are most commonly used in modern reproductions, this replicating technique manifests itself by showing nothing but different interlocking layers of crystalline structures with a "calcification" look all over the entire piece, and will look the same in the suspension holes as it does on the outside . This "over-all" effect is most often overcome by the replicators by lightly polishing the outside of the stone and applying various dyes and wax treatments which can easily be removed by acetone, bleach or a short soak in oxalic acid.]  The dark lines on the inside of this artifact are authentic manganese tracks laid down by “feeder” roots that had grown into the suspension hole after it was buried. Tree or plant roots will uptake manganese as they grow, and when they die and rot away on a true artifact, the manganese actually remains on the object’s surface, and in a process we have never before read about, actually grow and adhere to the material; not only nephrite but all types of stone and pottery objects of long term burial. These deposits are extremely well documented around the world, but personally we find them more, and larger in size, on artifacts from areas that are moister and have more vegetative matter associated with the burial object. Most often the replicators use black paint “splotches”, burnt-on sugar, or sugar water (to carbonize the sugar into a crystalline form), and baked on dyes and ”shoe polishes” to achieve this effect. All these effects are easily removed in the above mentioned manner, but recently we have been finding a new method in which they actually use minute black metallic fragments, mixed with fine grit and glued onto the surfaces. These are also easily removed with proper treatment. As this Shang Dynasty Period artifact has undergone all the treatments mentioned above, in addition to our hand-held high-pressure water gun (that will almost pierce the skin), it is most assured that these tree root remnants are original and are actually attached to the nephrite. Due to the magnification properties, this photo appears to some to be concave, and convex to others. It is indeed concave, and these photos sometimes exhibit an optical illusion.

Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSi Using MP-E 655mm f/2.8 1-5X Lens at 1X

The photograph above again shows us the same set of remaining manganese “growths”, starting where several feeder roots were once attached to the nephrite. We will be including in future planned articles other types of natural anomalies and some of these will be showing mineralized (petrified) organic detritus in differing stages of the mineralization process. Sometimes entire root sections show up under different magnifications (with some so clear they can be seen with the naked eye), from the first stages of mineralization to total petrification where the old feeder roots have become part of the “mother stone” in a process which occurs much the same as the pseudomorph phenomena. Here we can trace the root tracks in a curving section just underneath the chin on the left side of the figure and again see the naturally eroded groove of the neck area, with no evidence of re-cutting or re-polishing. Also, we can start to  examine the presence of original, associated soil deposits that still adhere to the nephrite after a thorough cleaning .

Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSi at 30X Microscopic Power

Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSi at 35X Microscopic Power

Both photographs above were taken in the same approximate area as the photo used in the previous paragraph, taken at 1X with our Macro lens. In the top photo we can see several areas with the manganese root tracks as well as areas of small deposits of manganese. It is in the manganese (which takes such a long period to grow, deposit, and adhere into, and then become one with the stone) that most archaeologists and anthropologists find conclusive proof of long-term burial, and finding a manganese tree root track is overwhelming proof of extended burial. In the second photo we can see a bit more of the detail from the feeder roots, as well as the consistent degradation over the entire surface of the figure. No traces of modern or old tooling marks are present in this magnified photograph, as it is of an area that had been originally well-polished, and no deep tooling marks remained, as they did in other areas. In fact, it is easier to see the original drilling marks over the rest of the surface of the figure’s neck with the naked eye, as the contrast more readily lends itself to catch the dips and shadows in most lighting . Original soil and mineral penetration can easily be seen on the nephrite from casual viewing through all ranges of microscopic power.

Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSi at 35X Microscopic Power

In this last photograph we can see all of the aforementioned indicators of true age for this marvelous Shang Period Kneeling Royal figure: the natural degradation of the nephrite, as shown in the picture by the iron oxides; the iron-rich soil impregnation of the nephrite; the naturally degraded and tectonically worn tooling marks; and the manganese deposits in the design on the right thigh, all in one photograph at 35X magnification. The shine is  entirely natural, without any wax, on a cherished bit of history that someone has cared for and caressed, polishing by touch alone.

David Fredericks  – Yulongwei — Phone: 520-991-2153 (USA)

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100% In-Situ Western Han Dynasty Bi With Old Pseudomorphs & New Crystalline Growth

This wonderful, 100% in-situ Nephrite Jade Bi in “Yuan” style comes from the estate of the late Ronald Edwin Prosser of Iowa City, Iowa.  This large, prestigious and previously unknown private collection of jades, stone and other artifacts  is currently being authenticated, assessed and marketed by us on behalf of the heirs of the estate and their attorneys.

Dimensions:  80 mm Outer Diameter X  38 mm Inner Diameter X 4-5 mm Depth

Dating from around 200-250 BCE, this Bi was masterfully carved in approximately the Late Warring States to Early Han Dynasty Period. While the motif consisting of three Tao Tei Water Buffalo designs with touching horns and interlocking scroll patterns (both sides) is reminiscent of a later Warring States period design, the perfection, thinness and craftsmanship of the finished Bi lends itself more to the Early Han Dynastic period, and can be safely dated within at least the transitional period mentioned above. We have found that later Warring States Period pieces can be as well-crafted as the finest of the early Han Dynasty jade workmanship, and we believe it is sometimes a matter of skill level that holds true throughout history, even up to  today;  if ten artists were to display works of similar design, there would always be those couple or few artists who stand out above the rest. The other main consideration in dating this Bi with a certain degree of accuracy comes from the fact that stylistically, meaningful Period designs did not change radically on a certain calendar date, but were rather, we believe, altered in a more gradual manner. Other factors that should always be considered as helpful criteria towards as accurate as possible dating of an artifact are the choice of stone, degree of degradation of the stone, burial conditions, and workmanship, including accuracy, tooling, and polishing techniques, which will be discussed as this article progresses.

While most often this old an artifact made from nephrite jade is described as a light green with russet inclusions, or something along similar lines, the original jade was of a translucent white-to-clear nephrite with pseudomorphs, iron pyrite crystals and softer inclusions in what is often mistaken as a pure nephritic stone. It is a well documented fact that ancient cultures often chose their stones for color, purity, workability, durability and even for Shamanic power.  Artists today still use the same criteria when choosing their stone of preference for a particular effect. Starting out with an extremely unique nephrite, as in this case, would most certainly have been by choice in the period within which the dating falls. The three-water-buffalo design in a Tao Tei motif would most likely have been used to signify strength and solidity without gluttony or a too-high regard for personal indulgence. The fact that a white/translucent nephrite (Ying Yu) was chosen is significant in the fact that this type of stone was reserved for the royalty of both the Warring States Period and the Han Dynasty. The discoloration in this 100% in-situ Bi was most assuredly caused by the intrusion of iron from outside environs, as is quite commonly seen in the famous lighter colored nephrites chosen by the Hongshan Culture, which have been buried for millennia in the Loess Plateau region of China. The Loess Plateau region is a well documented formation that is extremely high in iron deposits, and is the type of intrusion we see in this particular Bi, and noted in the following photograph. It is interesting to note that many replicas of Hongshan artifacts have started showing up in the past year that are in fact a type B jadeite style, acid-etched and dyed to near perfection with a Loess soil-type coloration.

Above Photos Taken with Canon EOS XSI

While Nephrite Jade is often described as having a very specific structure and chemical composition, it is actually one of the most fascinating and diverse stones on the planet, and we believe it will always prove to be resistant to such strict categorization. For years the old way was to describe nephrite with the terms ‘nephrite jade, hemi-jade and semi- jade’. While we personally still use these terms in describing both the stones and the artifacts we examine, to the best of our knowledge no exact formula or percentages of purity have ever been assigned to these differing ratios. We personally like the approximate percentage of the different terms to read:  90% nephrite and above being considered pure nephrite, 65% to 90% being considered hemi-jade, and approximately 45% nephrite being used to designate semi-jade, which is often what we see when the stone is intermingled with serpentine, quartz or other minerals. With this Bi we can clearly see the approximate percentages of pure nephrite and inclusions in the the photograph above, where the degradation shows easily with the simplest of testing methods – the’ through light transmission’. However, in the case of this Bi, we believe it was by design and deliberate choice that this particular stone was used for such an important piece. It is not hard to imagine what a beautiful finished sacred Bi this would have originally been, with its glowing pseudomorphs and pyrite crystals, polished to perfection of the age.

Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSi Using Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5X Lens at 1X

In the above photograph, we start to see several defining signs of a true archaic jade artifact, and the aforementioned pseudomorphs. At only 1X power of the Macro lens, we can define the true fibrous nature of nephrite jade as can be seen in the clearer, shiny area to the upper left side of the photo, and along the inner defining ring to the left of the original cross-hatching, shown in the lower left. This photograph also shows well the original wear, due to handling and tectonic movement, to some cut-marks that define the horns of the water buffalo in the center of the picture. There are also definite original manganese deposits showing in the tooling channel that defines the outer ring of the Bi; they appear as small, shiny, darkened spots. It should be noted here that this Bi had previously been soaked in acetone by us for over a week, and no residue of wax coating was detected. Even after a thorough scrubbing with tub & tile cleaner and a high-pressure “power wash” with our hand-held jet sprayer, these manganese deposits were unaffected, which would not have been the case, had they been the usual black paint or carbonized sugar commonly used to replicate the appearance of manganese deposits. It is also noteworthy at this time to point out the original, degraded tooling marks that appear over the entire Bi, and the slight “Chicken Bone” effect on the flatter surfaces. As will be seen in additional photographs, these original degraded tooling channels differ greatly from the extremely common, whitish, ‘re-cut’ marks found on most old, re-polished archaic jades, which are often necessary in order to re-define areas that have eroded away during long term burial. This re-polishing, re-etching method is easily discerned in the large Bi on the jacket cover of the famous book ‘Jade’, Consultant Editor Roger Keverne.

Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSi Using Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5X Lens at 3X

In this photograph at higher power, we are looking at the extremely degraded portion of the Bi that can be seen in Photograph 3, at the top right portion of the Bi. Here we find under close-up setting, the wonderful greenish/yellow color penetration from the iron rich soils from burial, in an area that holds the remnants of an old pseudomorph where the harder “skin” of the pseudomorph is still present, and the center of the pseudomorph has degraded away and is being replaced by new quartz crystals. In the lower left section of the photograph can be seen the remnants of a chatoyant crystal, with re-growth of the newer crystals visible inside. This entire section is a bit more indented than the rest of the Bi because it was the softest part of the stone, originally cut with a string saw. String saws leave distictive ‘tracks’ even if they are polished out as masterfully as this Bi was. In the softer areas of the original nephrite stone, the saw would have a tendency to “eat it” a bit as the shapers were working the stone for the master to finish. This can be felt by touch alone over the surface of the Bi, even though the Bi appears perfectly flat at first glance. From a side view can be seen the narrower portion of the degraded area, and when the Bi is placed on a perfectly flat glass surface, it “wobbles” as all authentic archaic Bis do to some degree. Generally they take on a convex side and a concave side from the string-saw cutting, and it is with the concave side up that most authentic Bis wobble the most . With the concave side down they tend to rest on the outer edges of the Bi and therefore are more stable on the flat surface.

Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSI Using Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5X at 3X

While the picture above this one starts to show the crystalline “skin” of an old pseudomorph with newer crystals growing inside and around a portion of the skin, this picture is of an old degraded pseudomorph with a portion of its interior still intact. Of note is an original tool mark that is easily visible passing through the old pseudomorph. The skin of the oldest pseudomorphed crystal is clearly visible (with a still-solid section of the old pseudomorph inside of it) but the newer crystals had started to take on an even darker color from the surrounding iron-rich soil, as compared to the previous photo above. This should be thought of much as a white nephrite pebble or cobble, taken straight from what are commonly termed the Black and White Jade Rivers of Turkanistan. These pebbles and cobbles often have a deep red rind that could only have been formed by intrusion of iron and oxidation externally from the iron-rich waters and soils they travel through, on their way down the rivers from the mother-stone deposits. True white nephrite jade is pure, and does not have the necessary iron in its structure to produce the same type of red rind as we see coming from a green stone that is colored that way by the iron components that are part of the stone.

Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSi Using Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5X at 3X

The above picture shows a  thick-walled, double pseudomorph in clear detail, with other pseudomorphs in the surrounding nephrite jade. The new crystalline growth is showing finer detail and less of the Loess soil and iron penetration, which leads us to suspect that not all the pseudomorphs dissolved and re-grew new crystals at the same rate. The dark spots inside the furthest right pseudomorph are other manganese crystalline growths. Note the white ‘chicken-bone’ degradation on the main parts of the nephrite surface, and the degraded tool marks.

Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSi at 35X Microscopic Power

The picture above shows a much closer and clearer view of the double pseudomorph in the previous photograph. This picture was taken without any back-lighting, to show the true color of the new crystalline growth inside of the old pseudomorph ‘skin’, and clearly shows the difference in color of the iron-intruded nephrite and the double, crystalline skin of the pseudomorph. The pseudomorphs are often harder than the surrounding nephrite due to the ion exchange that most likely occurs when they are first created.  The harder (on the Mohs scale) quartz and less hard, but tougher nephrite jade, seem to “bond” together to create a harder but perhaps a bit more brittle nephritic stone. These are the first specimens of  pseudomorphs we have ever run across that for some unexplained reason, seem to have undergone a dissolving of their interior and then replacement by other growing crystals.

Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSi at 35X Microscopic Power

A wonderfully clear photograph showing tool marks and the degraded “damage zones” which accompany them, in an original design with no re-polishing or re-etching of the design.  Also, please note the chatoyant band of fibers running through the center of the picture, perpendicular to the tool marks in the design. These particular tooling marks in this Bi do not come from the usual drilling technique that is used to form the original grooves as the master is forming the piece, but rather, in this instance, are a result of the final polishing. In this photograph, a drilling mark would go side-to-side between the walls of the design. As stated before in this article, there were many very fine craftsmen during the period when this Bi was made, and then there were true masters of the art. The master who made this Bi was one of the finest workers of jade I have ever seen from that period. The only true drilling marks left on the Bi are from the original core drilling of the outside and inside surfaces, and these are minute. The extreme polish this Bi underwent is another indication of its significance as a religious artifact. The tooling marks on this Bi only show up now because when the heavier grits were used to form and polish the piece, they damaged the micro-structure underneath the surface of the nephrite on a molecular level. When the master was finished with this Bi, it would have had an almost perfect shine to it, but due to the ravages of time, the freezing-and-thawing and tectonic wear, the tooling marks began to be penetrated by soil and water, and consequently started to wear away at the damaged micro-structure; this shows up as tool marks, the same as if they were produced yesterday with heavier grits. The main difference between these and the deeper gouge marks made by the coarser grits, is that the deeper, heavier grit marks are usually spotted most easily in the suspension holes of artifacts, and inside the grooves of their design. In these worn-away polishing marks, they run with the design, which is the case with polishing out modern drilling marks and smoothing out the degraded damage zones, with which every modern jade artist is familiar.

Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSi at 35X Microscopic Power

This wonderful photograph show an in-situ oxidized iron pyrite crystal in the groove that defines the inner circle of the Bi. Also, more of the tooling marks can be quite easily discerned. Besides the marvelous pseudomorph crystals in the original Nephrite chosen to make this stupendous Bi, there were also these sparkling ‘golden pyrite crystals’ which occur quite frequently, interspersed thoughout certain Khotan jades from the Turkanistan region. This crystal and the original crystalline pseudomorphs would have been, after final polish by the master, extremely visible and very attractive. As stated before, these ritual objects of royalty were held in very high esteem, and presented with much ceremony and all the appropriate blessings of the High Priests of the time. Imagining the event of the Presentation is not difficult, and the small Bi must have seemed imbued with “power” at that time. By the amount of natural wear to the cross-hatched areas and other places where the Bi was held for ceremonial purposes, one gets a feel for the importance of the object, and yet its exact use by the royalty is lost in time.  All in all, its precise symmetry, masterful workmanship, and powerful design still reach out to us today with a sense of “power” and a bit of awe.

Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSi at 35X Microscopic Power

It is extremely unusual to find heavy manganese deposits in jade artifacts from the area west of current Beijing, as the area starts to get so naturally dry as we head further north and west towards the Gobi desert. It is this author’s belief that artifacts found in the more southerly regions around the globe where rainfall is more frequent and consistent, produces much larger and more readily identifiable manganese deposits. We believe two factors contribute to the adhering growth of manganese crystals: 1) The amount of manganese found in the area where an artifact was located. 2) The moisture available in the region to facilitate the growth of the manganese. We have always found much more manganese growth on artifacts from wetter environs, such as Thailand and Central America. In some Western Neolithic artifacts we can find manganese traces only on the original surfaces, or in crevices, and only by using  45X power or higher on our microscope. This is by far the norm, after examining well in excess of one thousand artifacts from different regions. Having viewed under microscopic conditions approximately 1,000 authentic archaic stone pieces from China alone, we more frequently encounter the degree of manganese seen on this item, on artifacts from the more southerly environs. However, there are some very exciting examples of more Northerly artifacts, a few of which we will soon be sharing on this jade forum, to further illustrate this point. We consider the wonderful manganese “track” found on this Bi to be a very unusual anomaly, along with the rest of the highly visible areas of manganese on this 100% in-situ Bi, which would do justice to any finely studied, authenticated, and displayed collection in the world.

David Fredericks – Yulongwei

Wyoming Nephrite Pseudomorphs

Interesting Jade Anomalies

Bizarre Pseudomorphs In Wyoming Nephrite Of Differing Ages

An absolutely unique slab of Wyoming Nephrite Jade, showing extremely old, and continuing to ‘morph’, ”frog skin” pseudomorphs, along with newer inclusions that are starting their transformation to becoming full pseudomorphs, and quartz crystals near the rind that are just beginning the transformation. We purchased this wonderful specimen from the John Snook Collection, who is a member of one of the foremost old Wyoming Jade ‘families’ and who has been exposed to, and has viewed some of the most extensive collections of  Wyoming Nephrite Jades in existence. John has been involved in Wyoming Nephrite Jade since the early age of 12 when he first started to help his father, a hard-rock miner, with his mining operations. John also started to work jade at that time; he finished and sold his first piece when he was only 12 years old, 48 years ago. John has seen jade from a perspective that very few of us have ever experienced, and handled too many pieces to count; from surface boulders to the remaining vein deposits he still works today. With this knowledge, we have asked him to comment on this article in the future and tell us something about the unique area in which this fantastic specimen was found, and any other pertinent information he would like to share.

An Incredible Amount Of Activity in One Stone

Far and away the most common, “frog skin” pseudomorphs can found in the beginning article of this series, showcasing pseudomorphs in Nephrite Jades, and showing the familiar oval-to-rounded, green to grey/green spots in different transformation stages as deposits within the nephrite. Other photos show different ‘fully morphed’ crystals, and in one unique article in this series is the familiar gray/green spots with some of the frog-skins surrounded by a red band, and some totally stupendous red spots for which there is currently no known explanation. Then we have an article showing obvious pseudomorphs extending from an extremely rare Botryoidal Nephrite which are connected to, and surrounded by, differing matrices. Now we have this incredible specimen that shows what we believe to be further anomalies occurring inside nephrite jade that rarely, if ever, get the proper attention of serious study from the scientific community at large. This wonderful specimen shows, upon examination with the naked eye alone, a unique and varying structure, which draws us constantly back to the question of what is the true nature of nephrite, and the fact that this ”Stone of Heaven” will continue to resist attempts to “pigeon hole” it into a category of gems that is concise and precise in nature. Under the microscope this specimen comes alive in the differing activity that appears to be a continuing evolution of the stone from its origination millions of years ago to today, where it is obvious to us that changes are still occurring.

Above Photos Taken With Canon EOS XSi

In the photographs above it can be clearly discerned the tremendous amount of activity that has occurred during the stone’s long history. The extremely tight-fibered, dark olive to black portions of the stone are the original Nephrite that at one time most likely held the familiar clear, rounded frog skin pseudomorphs that have continued to morph into their present state, and look much like a galaxy of stars, which we will see more closely in the following photographs. In the first picture we can easily identify a wide inclusion from a later period; the light green line coursing through the stone diagonally, and in one spot encasing a piece of the original nephrite. In the second picture we can see the inclusion of material surrounding newer and larger pseudomorphs transforming in the “mother-stone”. In the third picture we can see how the inclusion formed around the outside as it cooled around the mother-stone. I can only assume this inclusion to be an igneous activity that occurred in, and around,  the mother-stone while it was on its long journey to the surface, and that it is most likely of a quartz material, as it too is slowly going through the morphing process, along with the rest of the stone. I believe it had to have occurred under a circumstance of massive heat and pressure to have split the original nephrite and left such an inclusion of material as seen in this marvelous example.

Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSi and Canon Macro Lens MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x at 2x

Throughout these photos, we see fractures running off and along the sides of the inclusions. While speaking with Peter Shilling of Taking Form Jade this past week, Peter mentioned to me that it is believed that the fractures that are often associated with, and   radiating out from “trapped” quartz crystals in nephrite jade, could be a result of differing stages in the development of the quartz crystals. Peter said he had read somewhere of Alpha & Beta stages in a quartz crystal’s ‘lifespan’ that involve relatively large fluctuations of the crystal’s size, which could account for the high degree fracturing seen in this specimen running along the edges and radiating outward from the inclusion. These fractures are traceable by the naked eye and under microscopic conditions to the outside edges of the piece, and without much doubt account for the oxidizing effect we see along the edges of the inclusion, as water seeped in and the iron-rich nephrite started its degradation. If any of our readers have additional information about these fascinating Alpha & Beta stages, a comment would be much appreciated by ourselves and others.

Photo Taken With Canon EOS XSi & Canon Macro Lens MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x at 2x

In the photo above ( as in the second photo), we can clearly see the morphing inclusion that surrounds a large old pseudomorph inside the more tightly fibered original nephrite stone. There is also an area that has been devastated by a physical shock of some nature in its past, as the iron oxide discoloration stops at the natural joint in one of the unusual pseudomorphs. This degraded area extends all the way to the skin, and was caused by the original shattering of a portion of the stone that has left the rough area we see here extending outwards to the rind. Water could find its way into the shattered portion, and turned this entire section of the old pseudomorph rust-red with oxidation. We can still discern the inclusion around the damaged pseudomorph, as well as the remaining hard areas of the older pseudomorph, seen as darker lines inside the inclusions.

Oldest Frog Skins Spots Taken with Canon EOS XSi at 30X Microscopic Power

This picture is of one of the old frog skin spots in the blacker nephrite mother-stone, and can be seen in the first photograph of this article; it is the one that is 1/4″ above the “bumb” in the diagonal line inclusion that surrounds a piece of the original stone. While many of the original spots have continued to morph into the more grey-green to black spots we see over the rough, saw- cut areas of the stone, this spot shows (as do many others) the original green core material which was most likely at one time the more common, easily identifiable, and well known frog skin spots so often found in Wyoming Nephrite Jade. Here one can easily discern the nephritic fiber patterns of this particular portion of the stone, and readily see the transference of iron ions as the mostly-black original stone “invades” the frog skin more, and the lighter green (most likely quartz in nature) diffuses outward to give that ‘galactic’ look to the areas.

Photo Of Inclusion Taken With Canon EOS XSI at 30X  Microscopic Power

A wonderful photo showing a portion of the ”bump” (in reverse) in the diagonal inclusion from the first photograph. In this photo, we can see the original blackish nephrite as the darkest portion to the right of the picture (the whitish streaks are reflected light on the saw cut marks). The yellow/green inclusion with its oxidized outer edge is easily discerned in the center of the photograph, and to the left we can see the piece of broken-off and then surrounded mother-stone. The spots inside this surrounded piece of the mother-stone are minute pseudomorphs with tiny rings of the same inclusion material around them.

Photo Of Inclusion Taken With Canon EOS Xsi at 30X Microscopic Power

This photo is of the exact same area on the diagonal line with the “bump”; this time showing the mother-stone nephrite on the left side of the photo, the inclusion in the middle, and the broken-off and surrounded piece of mother-stone to the right. In the bottom right portion of this section of the inclusion can be faintly seen a small crystalline pseudomorph to the left of the darkest area of the broken-off and surround piece. Also of note is the minute cracking that shows up on the left side of the inclusion, which has allowed water to get in and start the oxidation process.

All in all this is one wonderful section of a phenomenal Wyoming Nephrite Jade, and shows the complexity that nephrite can take on through the millions of years since its initial formation. Wyoming  jades in particular show tremendous variation with each new specimen we examine, as I believe they should, being considered the oldest of the true Nephrites on the planet by such authorities as George E. Harlow of the American Natural History Museum in New York, and Sorena  S. Sorensen of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Museum.

David Fredericks – Yulongwei