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- probably Baltic amber brought along the Silk Road.
There is a 13th century Persian book by Nur Eddin Mohammed Ufi entitled J amiul hikayat, which discusses the products which China sends to Khorassan in Central Asia ...All sorts of textiles are found with them [the Chinese], some of which are brought to Korassan, with marvellous curiosities. Their merchandise consists of resin, incense, and yellow amber coming from the country of the Slavs. This is a resin thrown out by the sea of the Slavs.� This passage seems to suggest that the Chinese who had imported amber from the West were now also exporting it to places like Khorassan.
Another Early Mention of Amber in Chinese History
One of the most famous pieces of carved amber in China belonged to Sun Quan (181-252) ruler of the Kingdom of Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. It is recorded that he owned a ceremonial sceptre called a ruyi, which was made of amber. He heard of the great beauty of the daughter of Pan Furen, whom he had condemned to death, so he ordered a portrait of her to be painted. The story goes, when the portrait was presented to him, he was so surprised at her beauty that he exclaimed �This is a divine woman�, and struck the table with his amber sceptre, which broke into pieces.
European Amber Arriving by Maritime Routes
It is known that in the 17th century, the Dutch had imported amber with other products into their colony of Formosa (modern Taiwan) for further export to China. This amber may have been Baltic amber. The Portuguese were known to have traded amber to China through their settlement of Macao at least as early as the 18th century. This, too, was probably European amber.
By the 19th century, it appears that European amber, was now cheaper and easier to obtain in China than was Burmese amber. During the 19th century, European amber entered China via Japan and Europe through the ports of Shanghai and Guangzhou. At the turn of 20th century there are also records of Germany exporting amber to Korea.
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