Galerie Golconda

MATERIAL AND TECHNIQUE: tsong pillar in nephrite jade of a very dark green, almost black, decorated with three registers. The pillar is hollowed out at its centre in a tubular fashion. The outer edges are square and each of the three registers shows the design of five nets carved in relief.
Some signs of erosion due to age and manual work. The interior bears the typical marks of work done by two different sides. Beautiful manual polishing and excellent state of conservation.
ORIGINE: Nephrite jade is found in pebble form in rivers in China, and has always been under the strict control of officials. Most of the Chinese jade arrives from lower Yangzi regions to the Neolithic jades, but also a little later from Turkestan, Khotan and Yardland. Since 7000 years and especially from the Neolithic, the Chinese, work jade with a particular emphasis from the Shang Dynasty. One can speak of the art of jade, as the forms produced are subtle in the Neolithic cultures born from the mouth of the Yangzi (Liangzhu culture) to the South-East of Mongolia. This very hard stone is cut in pure geometric shapes and possibly with similar patterns harmoniously distributed and all perfectly polished. This work could only be done by friction, abrasion and polishing. The jade composite material, extremely hard, was obviously chosen based on symbolic considerations that value the purity associated with hardness and a large number of values specific to Chinese culture. Jade was attributed the property of protecting the body the time necessary for migration to the world of ancestors, or better, among the immortals