Late Eastern Zhao Period Royal Funeral Vessel

Transitional Re-Polished Grey Nephrite

Lidded Vessel

Originally with Total ‘Calcification’

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

In continuation of our last article, we return to the degraded original vessel most likely made for a King in the Late Warring States period (475 – 221 BCE). We do not use the term ‘Made for a King’ lightly. We examine the vessel and type of jade used and preferred by Royalty of the particular era. Stylistic analysis is well-defined in the many fine publications on jade that have graced the shelves for years, with refinements being added with every certified archeological dig that creeps out (using this word because of the often extremely slow nature of publication from discovery to enough acceptance of anything ‘controversial’).  It is well-documented that the Kings (there were no Emperors at this time) in the Warring States Period were extremely fond of my personal favorite nephrite, the finely grained and flowing-textured translucent white jade, or Ying yu as it is called in China. This led to the later ‘Mutton Fat’ white jade of the Han Dynastic preference – although we have personally seen just as many Han Dynasty translucent white pieces as we have seen mutton fat, and believe the ‘so called’ preference to be more of a story that was repeated enough till it started being held as truth, such as the misconception of Rhinoceros horn being used as an aphrodisiac, when in fact it was the preferred medicine for headaches. This particular dark grey nephrite jade we find in the main subject of this article, as far as we can research, is much more rare than the white jade (as is also Black Jade and Yellow Jade, and in our experience, the rarest of all – the Dark Grey with the copper alloy causing the true “Blood” Jade, known to have been found in the Warring States Period). Design-wise, this is one of the only vessels we have ever seen that does not portray a Feng Huang (Red Bird of the South) on it. While both the Dragon and the Fenghuang have been well-documented as symbols of Royalty on religious artifacts long before the Han Dynastic Period (note that some older publications give this dating as the ‘birth’ of the Royal symbols), this fantastic lidded vessel only shows the Dragon in many of its then-known forms. We would take this to be an almost certain sign of exclusively Male Royalty, as indicated by the lack of the Fenghuang or any other motif, such as the often prevalent Taotei that adorns so many fine vessels in Jade, Pottery and Bronze throughout millennia. The original vessel, having far too deep degradation to have even a remote possibility of being a Ming Dynasty piece, even in the worst imaginable possible burial conditions, is left to scholars of these large types of ritual vessels to be either a Western Han or a late Warring States Sacred Vessel (and most that truly know old jades will say Han; the rest, we do not really care about – not meaning to be pompous here – they just forgot to keep learning, and lacked the large real vessels and their fake counterparts to study in depth). While all indications, which will be mentioned and shown, truly place this masterfully worked vessel in a Han Dynasty context, we will offer our opinion as to why it should be placed more neatly in the Late Warring States era, as these ‘True’ type of large vessels have only been found in the Late Eastern Zhao Period, the Han Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty.

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

In old burial jades, the first thing any true professional (one who knows and has touched enough real items) will do is ‘feel’ the jade. Jade under such inspection, as most people know, feels cool to the touch. What most people have never heard is that it will also ‘rob’ the heat from your body and is best felt by softly touching the jade with one’s finger and feeling the jade ‘steal’ the heat from the skin surface where the finger touches. It is a subtle sensation, to be sure, but it is easily mastered with a little quiet and very little practice. From that initial feeling of the stone, one then looks for signs of decomposition of the nephrite itself from burial conditions. This is sometimes extremely easy to see and sometimes it is almost impossible to see, if the jade has been re-polished very throughly, and had been in a very corrosive environment. Some tombs were composed of naturally acidic or alkaline soils, and some were in wetter or dryer environments. Without having been there at the actual time of removal from the soil, and knowing that many pieces had been re-cut and re-polished more than once, and buried more than once, as mentioned before, one must then assess by the object alone, the likely course of events and conditions which have occurred to the item from the time the piece was first made until the present moment when it’s being viewed and studied. This is where it truly takes a professional (whether academic or private), and it takes someone who has handled enough genuine pieces, from in-situ items to all stages and techniques of restoration, and who knows the techniques used to replicate archaic and archaistic jades for centuries. [The hardest thing we ever experienced years ago while learning this, when we were making the discoveries that are to be freely shared on this site, was to find a person with true knowledge and without a personal agenda of some sort -that person was never found, and so, we had to do all of it on our own through literally thousands of hours under microscopic conditions, over years' time.] In the two photographs above we find possibly the easiest determining factor of age, and one about which the least is written. In through-degradation of jade is found one of the greatest determining factors of ancient jades. It is when a real professional holds a piece of our collection and those we represent, and without prompting, takes the piece to bright light and looks at this through-transmission of light, just on a small edge; then we know we have a professional (whether declared or not), in our midst. [This is for you, Peter.] As many know, nephrite is one of the ‘toughest’ stones on the planet – what not very many know is that it is not wholly homogenous, and its subtleties and porosity are rarely discussed. Yet, it is in this porosity and nonhomogeneity that lies the true nature of nephrite jade, and the ability to ascertain burial age by degradation of the stone itself, and get a glimpse of the conditions sustained by an object of burial of nearly any length of time. When we see degradation that travels through the jade sideways to such a great depth, as seen above, we know there were times of high moisture and some corrosive soil mixture to have caused such a deep pitting in the object. It begins small, as in all things, with minute degradation of the ‘weaker’ portions of the nephrite, and continues to grow inwards and expand outwards, as time, conditions, and moisture continue to provide a conducive environment. We have seen the same effect on obvious burial items which almost certainly got their ‘start’ with the well-known excretion of body fluids and their acidic reactions to the ancient jade; however, in the case of this vase it would be a most unlikely cause, as such an item of reverence would not be placed directly on the body of the deceased, and most likely not be proximal enough to the enclosed confines of the casket and liner. With this deep degradation we see almost no chance of this vessel being a cave burial artifact, and much more in line with the types of burials we find from the Warring States Period (as in the construction of the Marquis Xi’s tomb) and those of the Qin Dynasty and Western Han Dynastic Period. Another note along this vein which we have never seen discussed is the through-degradation of a lidded vessel as compared to one that has been next to it that is not lidded, as the lidded one will undoubtably hold moisture longer and degrade quicker and further than a non-lidded vessel, given that the tomb was not entirely flooded.

Above Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSi Using Ef 24-70mm f/2.8L Lens

With this last photo using our regular lens, and before going into the Macro and Microscopic Photographs, we wish to discuss some of the peculiar aspects of this significant vessel, including its magnificent styling and unusual size. Starting with the size, most Museums (including China’s most prominent) and private collections have never had the opportunity to own the old sacred vessels of this size, or larger, and as such have a very hard time believing these magnificent vessels truly exist. The fact of the matter is they not only exist but are fairly common within the Chinese Museum sphere of knowledge and collections. Approximately two and one half years ago, Dr Timothy Jones PhD., who works alongside us, was invited to Beijing Museum by staff for a visit. During his stay with the Museum, he was introduced to several rooms in which were kept the older and rarer vessels (such as the  Blood Jade vessels we have) that are not normally on display to the public. These are considered extremely sacred vessels, and are just not on display for public viewing. This does not mean they do not exist – simply put, they are highly revered, and are not part of the mainstream of knowledge concerning burial jades in particular. While we personally have some vessels much larger than this that are indeed jade and authentic, it is not as much a mystery as some would believe. They did, and they still do exist, and when the Chinese Professionals come to see our vessels, it is not with incredulity that they stand, but rather in awe of the piece itself, given the time frame of their creation and the sacred manner in which they were used. Some of these large vessels are in almost in-situ condition, and others have been repaired, but all the authentic ones are just that, and the replications were made from these tremendous originals. There were some that were originally made from separate pieces fitted together, and some where the original stone was large enough to accommodate the entire massive vessel. The most amazing thing to us, aside from the tremendous amount of labor that went into their creation, is the sheer time and effort involved in their transport; the distances traveled and manpower and supplies needed just to move the stones from the Turkanistan region of that time, and bring them to those various artisans who imagined their final awe-inspiring designs, and who worked the stone into those sacred creations so long ago, is almost inconceivable. In addition, this will be the only occasion that we will discuss the vague particulars of how we came by the vast majority of the major portion of our collection (as the particulars are really no one’s business but those from whom we obtained the pieces, and ourselves). In short, they were acquired through trust. The longer version as is already known to a few valuable ‘family’ members, is that it took years to develop the trust necessary for the collecting and the ability to hold on to the collection for study and disbursement. Through sincerity, caring, sharing, and steadfast discipline, we were allowed to gather, as time went by, more and larger items and keep them in our possession. By the exact same disciplines as that of any ‘official’ representatives that knew of our work and true intentions, we have remained ‘centered and true’. We are also no longer collecting any items, in accordance with the UNESCO Treaty laws, and are only procuring the newest of modern replications from China, as must be done to keep up with the ever-excelling methods of their production. It is with this sharing and the caring that both our ‘Antiquities, Plus…’ web site and this ‘Timeless Jade’ site were established, and any words spoken to the contrary are not of concern to either us or the exemplary people we have dealt with, either here or across the Pacific. It is not and never will be our intention to become wealthy from the collection, but only to share the knowledge and the proceeds to those who truly need it, in accordance with our ‘agreements’ and goals. We will forever keep only that portion which we need to survive under common conditions, and we do not consider private jets, mansions, or fancy automobiles to be part of that concept. That being said, we will continue with the photo above which in its own right is a wonderment of technical achievement, and leads to even more questions yet to be answered, as do all good pieces. As can easily be seen in the photograph where the lid meets the vessel, the two jades are not the same color, and yet this is the only way the lid will fit. If turned opposite, the jades match exactly in color transition but the lid will not fit. As with all things, there has to be a reason for this anomaly, as it is not the norm for lidded vessels, or two or more parts of jade which are to fit together, to not match in color. It is a fact that sometimes vessels were made with the different pieces lacquer-glued together, and this can mostly be accounted for by the need for a matching stone to make the addition of a higher level on a complex design, and sometimes in the case of later repairs to crushed or damaged vessels. However, in the case of this vessel, it was most assuredly a ‘planned’ anomaly. The master artist who finished the design and carving would have never, out of negligence or poor planning, reversed the stone to make the lid. For such an important vessel, this would not be the case, and it has been suggested that it was an intentional use of the jade, which we personally find reasonable. The top and the bottom are most certainly made of the same stone, and it has been postulated that it may have been an intentional reversal of the lid for shamanic protection of the deceased, according to some archeological speculations we have entertained.  These grey vessels were most likely made for burial rites and daily or yearly ritual use. Any additional information or insights concerning these types of vessels from responsible persons who work among such vessels in a Museum setting would be most appreciated. In addition, we can find in the photograph above what we believe is the earliest of two different lacquer glue repairs to the vessel since it was first removed from the burial setting many years ago, as will be shown in following close-up photographs. While the old black lacquer repairs are to be found all over both the top and bottom of the vessel, the lacquer was applied mostly to small ‘spiderweb’ cracks that surprisingly never broke all the way through. It is only the portion shown in the above photograph where the lacquered  crack meets the upper rim, where a small section actually broke loose and was re-inserted, using the glue.

Above Two Photos Taken with Canon EOS XSi Using MPE 65mm f/2.8 1-5X Macro Lens

The above two photographs were taken at only 1X power of the Canon Macro lens and show tremendous detail already of the degraded nephrite both in the in-situ areas and the ares that have received what we would call re-cutting and re-polishing, using the old methods. As clearly as we can determine, the vessel, as mentioned earlier, has undergone two different polishings and repairs, with the oldest of these estimated to have been performed around the Ming Dynasty period some five hundred years ago. In later microscopic photographs, it will become more evident as to the two different periods of re-working the original vessel, but for now it is important to note the amazing ability of the original nephrite carving to retain its integrity (note the intact teeth and tongue) under conditions of such extended burial and the tectonic movements which must have taken place during the long history of such burial. Clearly visible in the upper-most photo are the two different cracks that appear in the curling design, and it is apparent in the larger one, to the viewer’s right, that the stone held (as it shows no lacquer repair to either side), and light going through the tip of the curl is different than the transmission of light in the thicker area just beside the crack. (The bright white ‘curl’ is an optical illusion and is actually in the background; sometimes it appears to ‘pop out’ of the shot. The jade that is cradled in this white curl is the part we are examining).While having been being re-polished on the sides and on the curve, the chip at the bottom of the main crack is in-situ and has not been re-polished in any way. In the second photograph, evidence of the first re-cutting and re-polishing starts to show in the mouth area of the main dragon on the bottom part of the vessel. The tip of the tongue, outer fangs, and tips of the smaller teeth were surely considered too delicate in their first unburied condition to be re-polished, for fear of  breaking them. The old ones who re-worked these vessels were for the most part masters in their own right, and knew from experience what to touch and what to not touch, as in almost every occasion on any jade artifact we have examined, they knew what was under the degradation and exerted extreme caution in their work, due to the sacred nature of the items themselves. This sort of re-conditioning and study of original old artifacts is well-documented during the Ming Dynasty, as many paintings and written descriptions of the literati exist today, from their studying and revering the ancient arts at leisure. Their study and love led to further Tao and Confucian reverence, in the exquisite execution of their copying and experimental dyeing of the jades to appear as realistic as possible. Many such designs were made during the Ming Dynasty, and at times both the originals and the tremendous reproductions of the period were buried along with the deceased.  However, a true Ming Dynasty funeral jade will not come close to the depth of degradation we see in the older, two-thousand-year-old plus archaic jades, due almost exclusively to length of burial. In these above photos, and all those applicable so far in both parts of this article, the areas where the darker brown staining appears on the jade is part of the first re-working of the vessel, as during the final re-working, only clear wax was used over the second re-polishing. This second waxing is now turning to a more darkened color under microscopic viewing, due to the age of the wax itself, and would be estimated by us to be minimally in the hundred-year-old range. Bits of fiber can still be found attached to both of the different waxes that have been used, and in places, there is still burial debris from its final entombment, perhaps during the period of occupation. These are what is left from our initial cleaning of all modern ‘enhancement mud’ applied prior to our acquisition of the item.

Above Photo Taken with Canon EOS XSi Using MPE 65mm f/2.8 1-5X Macro Lens

Both of the above two photographs were taken at only 1X power of the Canon Macro lens, and start to show the differences of the two separate re-workings of the vessel, and some of the original tooling marks dating from its creation. The top photo shows the highest wing tip of the main Air Dragon (which is facing to the right), from the viewer’s left side looking straight on towards the vessel.The re-cutting of the ‘feathers’ on the wing tip are from the original re-working of the vessel when it was first removed from the burial site. The vessel was completely smoothed first to remove what would have been deep pitting similar to the other Warring States Vessel shown in Part One of this article. After the vessel was rough-polished down to where the deep grey natural coloring of the nephrite was showing, the re-deliniation of the original designs was performed. We have other vessels which still show where the overseer in charge of the restorations left original ink on them, from when he would re-draw the original designs from what remained (as in the case of the feathers here), and when the one who was actually doing the re-cutting was following these ink lines, he would not go all the way to the end of the new inked designs, and would leave a trace of ink from the overseer’s brush. In many of these cases where the traces of ink remain, we find totally in-situ tooling marks from the original work. In the above photo there are no ink lines left but, there are places where the design was removed by the re-polishing, and where the new re-cutting was done, it was not totally completed, and the tips still show their original tooling marks. This will be better seen in the microscopic photos to follow. In the second photograph above, we get a glimpse of the bottom of the right front foot of the Main Dragon at 1X power of the Macro lens. In this photo can be seen over two thousand years of workmanship and degradation, and the start of the close-ups of both re-polishings to the vessel. The two large brown-colored depressions are totally in-situ botryoidal shaped ‘break-outs’ where the jade had been hit sometime during its internment, and while the old Chinese usually sifted the dirt for even the smallest of pieces to lacquer-glue back into place, these two small pieces were apparently not found. The brown inside of the break-outs is the old Ming Dynasty period wax used to darken the jade after it had been re-polished, as almost every ancient jade that has been re-polished (to bring out the original stone color), comes with its own ‘antiquing’ method to make them look old again, while still seeing the original stone. This should be viewed as the restorer’s ‘artistic license’, and is found on objects in most museums in the world. As we also do restorations in our Gallery, we have to do the exact same thing to certain pieces, depending on what looks right to us and the client, but it is a steadfast rule of ours to never do such a perfect job that the restored portion can not be perceived by a professional. (We do this simply because there have been people who have purchased items from us in the past as ‘restored’, then attempted to re-sell them as 100% in-situ). On the upper edge showing in the photo can still be seen some of the rounded original tooling marks made from the drilling of the vessel when first ‘roughing out’ its shape. These can be seen as short and deeper depressions along the edge of the foot of the Dragon, and just to the viewer’s right of these depressions are the rough-sanding marks (since then, a bit degraded and pitted) from approximately the Ming Dynasty period, towards the far right of the photo. In the center of the photograph, and in-between the two break-outs, we can now see the tooling, or sanding marks, from the second re-polishing. These show up as whitish sanding-style markings on top of the original degradation, and on top of the old brown wax which had been applied earlier.

[As this article is beginning to get too long for my trust in the blog style format, we are changing it to a three-part article. When reaching over 4,000 words we feel it is better to hold it here, as  it gets too long for a sitting for some of our readers. Also, when saving the article, funny things start to happen on the blog itself as the article gets too long. On our new Antiquities, Plus... web site, scheduled to for initial launch this coming January 6, 2010, the length of an article or review will not be an issue, as it will be a truly state-of-the-art web site, allowing us total freedom to design as we please. So, we thank our readers and our consignors for their continued patience as many more of these types of articles will be written for both the smaller and unique pieces we have, and those we represent, along with some articles and reviews of some larger items that will certainly, and without any exaggeration, add to the base knowledge of ancient burial jades to a degree we believe has never been achieved in any publication.]

David Fredericks  –  Yulongwei

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This entry was posted on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 2:04 pm and is filed under Jades Of Antiquity, The Awesome Feeling Of Jade. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.