It is difficult to imagine, in this day of instant handicrafts and assembly-line production of art objects, that it sometimes took a lifetime for the completion of a fine Chinese jade carving. Knowing the problems encountered in carving even a small object, it is a staggering thought that during the time of the great Chinese jade patron, Emperor Ch’ien Lung (1736-1795), blocks up to a record size of seven tons were worked successfully. Ch’ien Lung carvings represent perhaps the highest level of skill in the long history of jade sculpting.
We do not know how long ago men discovered that they could shape jade fragments for their own purposes and that it was worth doing. The oldest jade artifacts recovered are axeheads, knife blades, and wedges—objects of a very practical nature. Jade is used for matching wedding bands Early man had soon learned that jade could be honed to a fine edge and, unlike other stone tools, would keep its edge under hard usage. It was definitely worth the extra trouble to find it and shape it. What is really surprising is the early production of such tools in impractically small or large sizes, and so thinly and beautifully carved as to be almost useless for the purposes suggested by their forms. Obviously, these pieces were ceremonial or token objects never intended for use. The point is that the practical characteristics of jade which made it so satisfactory for tools also made it desirable in itself.
Sculpture in Jade