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- Qing Dynasty
1644-1911
During the Qing dynasty, jade production underwent its most glorious age, and is without comparison in the long history of ancient jade carving in China. A number of factors, such as political stability, prosperity in the economy, growth in foreign trade, and greater attention to the arts, all combined to bring about an unprece�dented development in the jade industry, which had not occurred in the previous periods. With better organization at the jade mines and new skills acquired in quar�rying jade, huge quantities of jade were available for the first time in a wide variety of colours and of extremely large size. This allowed the themes of the carvings to become exceedingly wide-ranging and eclectic.
The jade carvings produced during this dynasty, as compared with earlier peri�ods, are unsurpassed in accuracy of detail, complexity of design, and difficulty of execution. The tour de force technical skill of Qing jade carvers enabled them to produce lavish objets d�art with intricate and fragile openwork. Increased size and extravagance characterized their jades. One of the most popular large-scale carv�ing subjects was the miniature jade mountains with figures and animals.
Under the Qing, the growing taste for imitations of the famous classical shapes of ancient times was accomplished with mastery skill. Their genius and ability over the material had never before been equalled, and they succeeded in accom�plishing almost everything they attempted. They copied bamboo art objects such as brushpots and armrests, which were popular among the literati during the late Ming. Metalware, carved lacquer and ceramic shapes also exerted influence on the style and form of Qing jades. The Qing jade carvers were even able to imitate the fresh crispness of a piece of cabbage in their sculptures.' They further applied themselves to copying complex architectural forms, which can be seen on the im�posing lids in the shape of tiered roofs on vessels such as incense burners.
One of the predominant styles in Qing jade carving involved the use of archaic motifs. However, their attitude towards archaism was different from their Song, Yuan and Ming counterparts, as they tried to enrich the traditional styles by adopt�ing a more formal and decorative attitude. When copying the archaic bronze ves�sels in jade, the Qing carvers adopted three approaches: 1. copying the ancient bronzes completely in shape, size and pattern; 2. only part of the bronze shape is copied and the rest is combined with an animal shape; and 3. creating a fresh, new style by using the bronze shape as the basis and then adding contemporary orna�mental decorations.2 This faculty of blending and modernizing ancient styles con�stitutes one of the major contributions of the workshops patronized by the Qing court.
Based on use and shape, Qing dynasty jades can be divided into nine cate�gories; decorative objects (such as ritual objects, screens, sculptures, etc.); ves�sels (plates, bowls, cups, boxes); jewellery (bracelets, belt hooks, hairpins); jade books; sacrificial objects (altar pieces, gui, devotional statues (Buddha, bod- hisattva, luohan, eminent monks); utensils of daily use (knife handles, combs); ob�jects for the scholar�s desk (brushpots, water droppers, armrests, seals, chess pieces); and pieces for inlay.
Clearly jade carving had become a major industry at this time with some very important patrons, who not only demanded finer quality pieces and flawlessness
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