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- of material but also requested particular colours. The production of fine quality jade objects was in large part for one patron, the emperor. The pieces, which were produced, often reflected his own personal taste.
Palace workshops under Qing imperial patronage were set up to produce ele�gant jade objects. The production of palace jade carvings during the Qing dy�nasty has been divided into four periods by the Chinese scholar, Yang Boda.3 We have chosen to make a study on the imperial Qing jades based on his division of the imperial jade production into four phases. His information is based on research done in the Qing archives and his first-hand knowledge of the Palace Museum jade collection in Beijing. His study reveals the existence of a direct relationship between the imperial jade industry of the Qing dynasty, and the po�litical and economic situation in China during each phase.
Phase I: The period from 1644-1759, which lasted 115 years, includes the reigns of Shunzhi (1644-1661), Kangxi (1662-1722), Yongzheng (1723-1735) and the first 24 years of Qianlong�s reign from 1736 until 1759. This period sees a slow de�velopment in jade carving. The jade carving techniques of the preceding Ming dy�nasty (1368-1644) were largely continued, but gradually became more refined. This period also sees the introduction of new subjects in jade carving.
Phase II: The period from 1760-1812, which lasted 52 years, includes the re�maining years of Qianlong�s reign (from 1760 until 1796) and extends through the first 17 years of Jiaqing�s reign (from 1796 to 1812). By 1760, Emperor Qianlong had conquered and annexed Khotan and Yarkand which had been China's main but unreliable source of jade. After this conquest, huge blocks and boulders of jade became available on a regular basis and the jade handicraft flourished as never before. The skills of the jade carvers reached a very high technical level and the quality of many of these jade pieces became legendary. This phase is also noted for its numerous large scale jade carvings. Both the quality and quan�tity of jade carved during this period were staggering and can brook no rival.
Phase III:The period from 1813-1861, which lasted 48 years, includes the last years of Jiaqing's reign (from 1813 to 1821) through the reigns of Daoguang (1821 - 1850) and Xianfeng (1851 -1861). This phase sees the jade craft going into some�what of a slump, with a considerable decrease in size, quantity and quality of jade objects.
Phase IV: The period from 1862-1911, which lasted 49 years, includes the reigns of Tongzhi (1862-1873), Guangxu (1874-1908) and Xuantong (1909-1911). Dur�ing this phase China is cut off from its main source of jade which was located in Turkestan and the amount of jade material in the palace storage dwindles to al�most nothing.
Phase I 1644-1759
In 1644, the Manchus overthrew the Ming dynasty and placed their own ruler on the Chinese throne, taking the dynastic title of Qing or Pure. For the next few de�cades China experienced a period of instability in which the economy was in a disastrous state. The first Qing emperor, Shunzhi (1644-1661), was a weak ruler with little interest in anything but the Buddhist religion. Not much appears to have
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