The ring is a study in patience. Dark green (bian) jade holds a polish no metal keeps, and the Imperial workshop used that slow shine to signal rank and restraint at once.
A ring in dark green (bian) jade was never merely pretty. In a culture that called its rulers’ virtue ‘jade-like’, the stone was a standard as much as a material.
The Imperial taste for dark green (bian) jade favoured objects that could be held and turned, read in the palm as much as on the shelf. A ring was a private argument about refinement.
Jade is the slowest possible reply to fashion. This ring is Sinocra’s reason for keeping the craft in view, with more from The Palace Museum in the shop.
Object details
| Name | Jasper elephant ear holding movable ring flower goblet (碧玉象耳衔活环花觚) |
|---|---|
| Artefact no. | 故00101315 |
| Technique | Dark green (bian) jade (碧玉) |
| Period | Imperial dynasty |
| Collection | The Palace Museum, Beijing |
| Source | Palace Museum Digital Collection (数字文物库) |
Image © The Palace Museum. View the original in the Palace Museum Digital Collection.