Exquisite Two Dragon Cup With Pseudomorphs

Liao to Ming Dynasty Period

6 Cm Height X 13 Cm Width X 7 Cm Depth

Above Photo Taken With Canon EOS XSi Using Canon EF 24-70mm f/2,8L USM Lens

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

In the above photograph we find a rather large (for this cup) pseudomorph just above the left dragon’s bi-furcated tail. While at one time this pseudomorph would have been beautiful quartz crystal inside the mottled grey nephrite stone from which this cup was made, it has now pseudomorphed into the jade with what is most likely an exchange of ions with the mother stone. If the reader goes back to previous articles here, it is easier to determine an old pseudomorph from one that is just beginning its transformation. With the above pseudomorph shown in the second photograph at 1X, as taken with the Macro lens, it starts to become very clear that this is not a newer quartz crystal in its beginning stages, but rather an old crystal that has morphed a great deal with the surrounding material. When pseudomorphs reach this stage of development, carving or abrading the stone becomes much easier, as the original quartz crystal has ‘melded’ with the once-surrounding nephrite, making the crystal much more durable, while the adjoining area becomes only a bit more brittle from absorbing some of the harder quartz. In the pseudomorph above, we can see how it has taken on the same mottled and veining effect as the surrounding stone, but still somewhat retains its crystalline shape. The iron oxidation in the spotting and veining is more likely caused not so much from natural oxidation of the stone as from  intrusion of iron oxides from associated burial objects due to the slightly fractured characteristic of the stone, as will be shown in following photographs in this article.

Above Photo Taken With Canon EOS XSi Using EF 24-70mm f/2,8L Lens USM

Above Photo Taken With Canon EOS XSi Using MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5X Macro Lens

Above Photo Taken With Canon EOS XSi Under 30X Microscopic Power

The above three photographs show a progression of regular, Macro and microscopic views of  pseudomorphs showing on the internal surfaces of the Two dragon jade cup. It is quite evident from observing many different specimens of nephrite with pseudomorphs from a variety of sources that not all crystals in the same stone morph at the same rates. Some will be further advanced than others in the morphing process. What causes this discrepancy we do not know, but it is obvious under magnification that the entire process still holds a myriad of mysteries. The fact that the Chinese have revered this type of nephrite for thousands of years (as explained in Part One of this series) for special artifacts with religious significance shows us just how savvy  ancient man was of both the uniqueness of the stone and its ‘carving’ possibilities. Using modern high-speed Micro-motors and hard diamond tools, one runs the risk of shattering these crystals if they are too ‘young’, and not fully pseudomorphed. The old style slurry method, using slower-turning bronze and wooden tools, would most definitely yield finer results in the end product with far less chance of damage or destruction of the material.

In the top photograph above we can clearly see the veining in the original stone, which is sometimes referred to as ‘mottling’. This mottling effect occurs in most nephrites from differing sources as trace minerals combine with the more pure nephrite, most likely after some cataclysmic event has shattered the original pure nephrite, or it may result from an intrusion due to heat and pressure. This is often seen in the wonderful nephrites, hemi- and semi-jades of the Wyoming, USA region in their beautiful ‘flower’ and ‘snowflake’ jades, which are mixtures of green nephrite and pink Thulite, among other types. However, pseudomorphs often occur in the purest of specimens such as those shown in our earlier articles.

Above Photo Taken With Canon EOS Using EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Lens

Above Photo Taken With Canon EOS XSI Using MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5X At 1X

As mentioned in Part One of this Two-Part Series, this wonderful Jade cup has been stripped of all the accompanying wax applied after its re-polishing due to long-term burial. This cup was soaked in acetone for over three weeks, and then ‘shot’ with our high power water jet gun that will put a hole in a finger if misused. What you see in the all the photographs is what remains after wax has been removed – almost all original deposits from long-term burial remain, as they have become fused with the nephrite, as we often see in pieces even from the Neolithic period – if they are original deposits. Pieces from this period that have been re-worked, repaired and re-polished, with replacement deposits added back on again, will not hold up to a vigorous cleaning, while authentic items always do. Please note the original deposits inside the nephritic ‘botryoidal’ area in the Macro photo above. We can also tell from this picture (and other microscopic photos following) that it was not during modern times when this beautiful cup was re-polished after burial. No place on the cup is showing the typical new, white tooling marks and minute polishing marks of a recent re-polish, and all surfaces have been worn by touch and cleaning to the point where the fibrousness of the jade shows through. It would be our best estimate of at least during the 19Th Century when this cup was last polished. The old ‘botryoidal’ chip on the rim was certainly never polished out when the re-cutting of the vessel was undertaken, and still retains the smoothed look of old chipped nephrite.

Above Two Photos Taken With Canon EOS XSI Under Microscopic Power

With both photos above we see the consistency of the intrusion of quartz crystals that are undergoing the pseudomorphing process throughout the original stone. While almost all the pseudomorphs are found in just one half of the cup, they still are imbedded over 4 Cm deep from the side of the cup in which they are found. It is a fairly easy assumption that the side with the most pseudomorphs would have been closest to the rind of the original uncut stone. This is what we see most often with newer pseudomorphs from differing regions, along with the older and far more matured pseudomorphs in the deeper parts of the specimen stones. This deeper, more mature effect is more readily found in Wyoming jade, as it is considered the oldest nephrite found thus far on the planet, and is said to date to approximately Pre-Cambrian time. The pseudomorphs observed so far by us in Khotan-Hetian Nephrites seem to be of a lesser age, while some are fully matured but have not yet undergone the deep transmission of being almost fully incorporated into the surrounding nephrite, as can be seen in our previous article “Wyoming Nephrite Pseudomorphs – Interesting Jade Anomalies”. If an ion exchange is truly going on, then it should be fair to assume that the older the nephrite, the more complete the morphing process becomes. From here we will study photographs exhibiting age and showing distinctive features of true, old burial jades.

Above Two Photos Taken With Canon EOS XSI Using Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5X Lens

In the above two photographs we can get a better glimpse  at an old technique of re-polishing which holds true over the entire vessel. While mentioning before that it was our opinion that this cup was re-worked no later than the 19Th Century, it may well have been earlier, based on the techniques that were used. In the top photo above, certain parts are clear and others are fuzzy, due to the depth of field. We like these types of photos instead of the ones with more precise focusing using Canon’s lighting equipment for the camera, because it gives the viewer the chance to focus on more than just one area, and as the eye trains itself to discern the shifts in focus, it allows far more to be seen. In the top photograph, we can see the camera was set to take the clearest picture inside the mouth of the dragon. At the same time this technique also pulls into focus the deeper area on the head of the dragon, while leaving the side of the head (where the re-polishing was easiest) to be more out-of-focus. The degradation to nephrite seen inside the mouth is in-situ, as are the deposits that remained inside. If one looks closely at the less-focused holes that were drilled to originally make the opening for the mouth, we can best discern, in the the hole to the viewer’s right, the place where the larger drill was stopped, by the hole where it flares inwards. Tool marks can still be defined at the ending of this drill hole, along with a piece that had chipped off from the original drilling and was never smoothed out during its original polishing. Original deposits can seen in the pitted areas that were never re-polished along the edge of the nose. The degradation in the middle of the face of the dragon, as can be seen in the grooves, is also original, and the re-polishing of this area was lightly done, and only on the most raised parts of its surface.

In the second photograph, we could only use the Macro Lens as the angle was too steep for a clear microscopic photograph. This photo was taken on the inside of the arm of one of the dragons where it reaches out to grab the cup. We can clearly see the original drilling tool marks in their in-situ condition, with no re-polishing having been attempted in this area. This is not usually found on later re-cut and re-polished pieces, but is more indicative of older style, ‘hand polishing’ instead of modern tools having being used. The iron deposits inside the tooling marks are original to burial, and would have come from associated burial items of iron, which degraded and bonded with the nephrite over time. The entire cup shows true re-polishing of an authentic artifact with much more than 19Th Century degradation, which leads us to a much older dating of the cup, based not only on stylistic concerns, but on actual original in-situ tooling. There is absolutely no evidence of acid etching after the re-polishing, nor of burning or torching.

Above Photos Taken With Canon EOS XSi Under Microscopic Power

In the above photographs we can see the light re-polishing that had taken place years ago, with the original degradation and subsequent wear upon even the re-worked surfaces. In the lower groove of the top photo, just to the left of the eyes of the dragon, original drill tool marks show up under 10X power magnification on the upper edges, along with original dirt deposits. The obvious pitting shown at both magnifications leaves little room for doubt as to the authenticity of the Ronald Edwin Prosser Estate Collection’s Two Dragon Jade Cup. This type of pitting over the surface of the original nephrite jade has no direct correlation with either acidic or alkaline baths, or fire burning, but is unique to authentic artifacts. The other treatments effect the jade or simulents over the the entire surface, and while they can leave higher (and usually crystalline) areas after the treatments (which are often then re-polished and waxed, or dyed, or both), the photos above show far less white, burnt or acid-eaten surfaces than what we have seen in literally thousands of reproductions. However, not all burnt or treated pieces are fakes, but rather some of them have been re-worked, with natural breaks repaired, and then burnt to accept the dyes that are the final coating to re-make the pieces look old. When stripped of their dyes, these pieces usually show deep oxidation where the repairs were made and then covered over. One has to have the courage to examine them beyond first impressions, as restorations often appear to be newer reproductions on initial examination. What we see in all the above photographs definitely lead us to suspect a much older date for the cup’s original creation.

Above Photos Taken With Canon EOS XSi Under Microscopic Power

These last two photos of this two-part series show one of the main reasons why we truly believe this marvelous jade cup should be dated closer to the Liao Dynasty than to the Ming Dynasty. Both photographs, at differing magnifications, show more of the ravages of longer-term burial, by the depth to which the tree roots have eaten into the nephrite surface. The depth to which the tree roots had originally penetrated shows a bit less because of the re-polishing of the jade, but it is still to such a depth as we have never before seen on a true Ming Dynasty jade, and approaches depths not even seen on neolithic jades. The roots did not ravage an included portion of the jade but rather ‘ate’ their way through some of the most homogenous portions in the stone. Slight residual and pitted secondary polishing marks can still be identified in the lower photograph above.  In the upper photograph, we see advanced degradation over this area (see left dragon – first photo of this article) behind one of the dragon’s manes, where a rather large area was left with very little re-polishing. On the entire cup, there are literally thousands of areas like what we see above, with some being larger and some smaller. But, the fact they are all over the cup again leads us to a re-polish date which, most likely, was performed at a minimum of over 150 years and probably closer to 300 years ago. Almost all true jade artifacts that we have examined which show true old style re-polishing, which we would associate with the later part of the Qing Dynasty, have been more ‘detailed’ in their approach and finish. While this exquisite dragon cup does have a beautiful shine and appearance, it still appears after all the coatings have been removed, to have been re-finished with care by a master who obviously did not wish to ‘over-do’ his work, and intended to allow the original degradation and wear to ‘stand tall’. This wonderful jade cup shows, to us, the work of two masters from different ages, appreciating the same wondrous stone and the same creation in Jade.

David Fredericks — Yulongwei

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Exquisite Two Dragon Cup With Pseudomorphs

Liao to Ming Dynasty Period

6 Cm Height X 13 Cm Width X 7 Cm Depth

We have chosen this phenomenal Nephrite Jade Cup, from the Ronald Edwin Prosser Estate Collection, to demonstrate not only the archaistic beauty achieved by later Dynastic carvers, but also to point out some aspects of Burial Jades which, to the best of our knowledge, have not been written about at length, and are outside the mainstream of common knowledge on the subject. While we will, throughout the article, be making references to other well-known jade authors, collections and museums, it is not our intent to harm, chastise, or berate in any way the marvelous pieces or authors and researchers involved. It is our intent to help add to the knowledge bank, and to do our part in furthering the research on Jade and Jadeite from both archeological and geological standpoints. We shall also attempt to show why we believe the obscure dragon design on this vessel, and the accompanying nephrite chosen for its construction, should bear out an earlier stylistic dating than what some have written thus far. As with many things, it is a matter of opinion only, and not to be taken as ‘gospel’, but we hope it does stimulate the ‘jade community’ to investigate further.

The unusually wide range (for us) in dating of the Octagonal Two-Dragon Cup is due to the fact that somewhere in our thousands of volumes of research material, we have seen an exact duplicate design of this cup, with a dating to the Liao Dynasty (907-1125 CE) of Northern China. After searching for a week through thousands of photographs (we thought it was in The Complete Collection Of Jades Unearthed In China – Gu Fang), we have yet to re-find it. If any person out there who reads this article and knows of this other cup (it will look like an exact mate and very possibly is, octagonal and with two dragons), please write to admin@timelessjade.com, and we will review it and revise this article. However, being stated as Liao to Ming Dynasty, we personally believe the design to be towards the earlier dating, both from a stylistic point of view and by what we have discovered under microscopic conditions, after first cleaning the item of all waxes and residues from its obvious re-polishing and re-patina-ing.

It is a well-known design change toward the rendition of dragons in general which occurred around  one thousand years ago, in both jade and pottery designs during the Liao and Song Dynasties. The major changes to previous renditions are of more ‘flowing’ dragon with longer tails, arm and legs. While some items from the Han Dynasty reflect these same attributes, as can be easily verified in the aforementioned volumes of burial jades from China, we see a more consistent approach toward this ‘sinuousness’ in the dragon designs which follow old Han Dynasty models. In this Jade Vessel we find the lengthening of the appendages but with a much more ‘ridged’ approach than came be more commonly found throughout the Song Dynasty and into the Ming Dynasty. While one famous museum talks of the their piece as possibly being a late Qing Dynasty work (we will reference this a little later), we believe the cup should undergo a further analysis, as we find, in our opinion, the reasoning behind their stylistic dating technique to be possibly flawed, and the science used to determine its dating as lacking.

The stone for this marvelous cup was surely chosen for its intrinsic mottled beauty, and the Chinese knew well the Pseudomorphs in Nephrite Jade from the Khotan-Hetian Region (as is obvious from the over three-thousand year-old Collared Disc, shown in Book 13, Page 26 of The Complete Collection Of Jades Unearthed In China, and can be seen in many other Shang Dynasty pieces in the same book). Nephritic material, such as that in the cup above, is known to have been used intentionally during the Song Dynasty, as it closely resembles, in color and texture, some objects they were unearthing from the Han Dynasty tombs a thousand years before. The Song Dynasty Jades often reflect their reverence of the old designs, and it would seem most likely the Northern Kingdom of the Liao Dynasty would also imitate in their own manner, much the same as the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasty archaistic jades. It follows the pattern set down through successions of periodic ancestor worship when the teachings of the Tao and Confucianism were at their height. With the longer bodies and sinuous bifurcated tails worked into the cup in high relief, with the deep piercing, the dragons on the Prosser Collection cup appear to have some, if not all of the properties described in Plate 164 of the book Later Chinese Jades – Ming To Early Twentieth Century, from The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, and dated most likely to the period of the 19Th Century. However, while the deeper piercing might indicate this later date for their beautiful cup, other examples of deeply pierced designs were not uncommon in earlier Dynastic periods. Coupled with the likelihood that their cup was also re-polished, as was the cup above (indicated in the much rougher area to be seen underneath the dragon on their cup, which most likely received less re-polishing), it might be wise to re-evaluate their single-dragon cup, after the removal of any wax or other coatings it might have received after its re-polishing. This would allow a much greater opportunity to study the original tooling marks which may well underlie the re-polishing marks. The description for this single dragon cup also mentions a rough finish to the interior as being an indication of a Ming Dynasty date, which to our way of thinking falls more into the degradation aspect and re-polishing facet. To make blanket statements about Ming Dynasty rough finishes flies directly into the face of the fact that many Ming Dynasty jade artifacts were as finely made and polished as some of the finest pieces known to have been made in the famous Qianlong Era of the Qing Dynasty (see The Complete Collection Of Jades Unearthed In China for numerous examples). We believe, as we see everyday in both old artifacts and modern jade carvings, a differing degree of skill and polishing from one artist to another. For further review of this concept, one can also realize the great discrepancies in every period of jade and stone workmanship simply by studying the examples unearthed in China, and even from the exact same tombs. From examples found in the Marquis Yi’s tomb alone in Book 10 of The Complete Collection Of Jades Unearthed In China, the stunning difference in quality of workmanship is staggering. We also feel this most wonderful series of books may expose some of the most unrecognized flaws in archeological dating, such as the well-known fact that literally millions of Chinese people have loved to collect, study, revere, and then be buried with their older treasures; whether a piece was left unfinished because of time restraints, and buried with the deceased, or simply came from a more remote region with unrefined carvers, are among other possibilities for explanations of dating challenges.

This is the major problem (in our opinion) with relying almost entirely on stylistic approaches for dating and authentication purposes, when it is truly the original tooling marks that would better define the item’s correct place in history, along with at least a cursory study of the artifact and likely conditions of burial, based on microscopic analysis of both the stone and the old and newer tooling marks. Even while not having been there when an artifact was made and buried, some logical conclusions can still be ascertained, if one takes the time and preparation to access it with care and a certain degree of understanding. If an item was dyed, how and when was it dyed? Older dyes are not removed with solvent while modern ones are easily removed, and what lies beneath can be readily identified, as is often the case in restoration of an old artifact – it takes on a kind of ‘individual license’, as some are dyed and some are not. Sometimes the dyes and fire treatments are used to hide a repaired original crack in an original highly-oxidized artifact. Also, while the common ten-power loupes are easier on the eyes, we find they are rarely of much use in authenticating an older re-cut and re-polished jade artifact.

The similarity between the dragon design on the cup in the Asian Art Museum Of San Francisco collection and the ones on the Prosser Collection cup can be easily discerned. While we will never give a positive date or authentication by photograph alone, it is an extremely common occurrence throughout this industry to not only identify by photograph alone, but even to be so ‘expert’ as to be able to verify items of antiquity from 6 feet away, and whether they are in original condition, restored or reproduction. Sadly, we do not possess such ‘abilities’, and have to rely on more direct (aka scientific, and verifiable) methods, with both artifacts and reproductions. We feel this should be standard practice throughout the industry, given the numerous factors involved and the variety of methods of production, and reproduction, of such items of art of antiquity.

All Above Photographs Taken With Canon EOS XSi Using Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L Lens USM

Above Photograph Taken With Canon EOS XSi Using MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Lens

We believe the nephrite jade originally used for this cup was chosen precisely because of its mottled properties, to mimic a true archaic jade from a earlier period. The iron oxides around the pseudomorphs were most likely deposited in the crack separating the morphing quartz crystal  from the jade. This was almost surely caused, in this instance, by proximally placed iron-rich burial objects, which are well known from both archaic and later burials. The cracks around the pseudomorphing quartz crystals most likely were caused by what we have heard called ‘the alpha – beta stages’ of a growing quartz (explained in an earlier article on this site on pseudomorphs). As referred to before, this jade cup has been cleaned of all waxes by soaking in acetone for over three weeks, and then cleaned with our high pressure water gun. What is left is all original deposits that have not been sanded away in the restoration process. The reason the iron is so prevalent around the pseudomorph is due to the iron, over long-term burial, actually becoming a part of the whole, as it literally permeates the surfaces as they degrade along with the iron. This is very similar to what sometimes happens when manganese deposits adhere to the surface of stone and pottery items and actually start growing up and out from a central adhesion area. The chip in the viewer’s upper left corner in the second photograph above shows the well known ‘botryoidal’ look of chipped nephrite, and was left untouched in the re-polishing efforts. Veining of iron oxides (as can be seen in the photographs above) occurs over the entire surface of the jade, and is most likely a mixture of deposits inside the natural jade, and intrusions from degrading iron oxides during burial.

For a fine reference of similar stylistic types to the above mentioned jade cups, but from the Ming Dynasty period, please see Ms. Jessica Rawson’s exemplary book Chinese Jade – From Neolithic To The Qing – Part IV, pages 388-389. These marvelous examples, while being close stylistically, in our opinion are a bit more refined in the depiction and carving of the dragons, and to us, better reflect a closer association with Song Dynasty dragon depictions than do the Prosser Collection cup and one in the Asian Art Museum Of San Francisco Collection. As in all things, it is a matter of opinion based on individual conclusions, and not having had the pleasure to view the other collection’s pieces cleaned and under microscopic condition, we can only try to stimulate a hypothesis that perhaps the Prosser Collection cup and the one from the Asian Art Museum Of San Francisco could well be from the same area originally, due to the similarity of design and perhaps be of an older period than the ones in Ms. Rawson’s book.

Note: part two of this series will complete the description and continue with more in-depth Macro and Microscopic photographs.

David Fredericks — Yulongwei

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