The mountain-shaped carving is a study in patience. Dark green (bian) jade holds a polish no metal keeps, and the Han workshop used that slow shine to signal rank and restraint at once.
A mountain-shaped carving 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 Han 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 mountain-shaped carving was a private argument about refinement.
Jade is the slowest possible reply to fashion. This mountain-shaped carving is Sinocra’s reason for keeping the craft in view, with more from The Palace Museum in the shop.
Object details
| Name | Jasper Arhat Picture Shanzi (碧玉罗汉图山子) |
|---|---|
| Artefact no. | 故00103545 |
| Technique | Dark green (bian) jade (碧玉) |
| Period | Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) |
| 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.