The object is a study in patience. Dark green (bian) jade holds a polish no metal keeps, and the Jin workshop used that slow shine to signal rank and restraint at once.
A object 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 Jin 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 object was a private argument about refinement.
Jade is the slowest possible reply to fashion. This object is Sinocra’s reason for keeping the craft in view, with more from The Palace Museum in the shop.
Object details
| Name | Jasper small chime with golden clouds and dragon pattern – Taiculu (碧玉描金云龙纹小特磬-太簇律) |
|---|---|
| Artefact no. | 故00169308-3/9 |
| Technique | Dark green (bian) jade (碧玉) |
| Period | Jin dynasty (1115-1234 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.