The figure is a study in patience. Jade holds a polish no metal keeps, and the Jin workshop used that slow shine to signal rank and restraint at once.
A figure in 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 jade favoured objects that could be held and turned, read in the palm as much as on the shelf. A figure was a private argument about refinement.
Jade is the slowest possible reply to fashion. This figure is Sinocra’s reason for keeping the craft in view, with more from The Palace Museum in the shop.
Object details
| Name | Lapis Lazuli Songquan Character Shanzi (青金石松泉人物山子) |
|---|---|
| Artefact no. | 故00106081 |
| Technique | Jade |
| 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.