The Shanxi Museum holds a dragon-shaped jade pendant from the Spring and Autumn Period
As a mainstream collection variety, jade has always been favored by collectors. In the process of ancient jade collection, authenticity identification is always an important link that cannot be avoided. How to master the identification method of ancient jade is a compulsory topic for every jade collector. The ancients said: There is a specialization in the art, there is a sequence of hearing the Tao, and so on. Today we will talk about the identification of ancient jade. To put it simply, the identification method of ancient jade can be summarized into five words, namely: material, work, type, pattern, and Qin.
The Harvard Museum in the United States holds a double jade pendant from the Warring States period
"Fee" instant cobblestone raw material
In different historical periods, the jade raw materials used in jade have their own characteristics of different eras. For example, the jade of the Hongshan culture period is mainly Xiuyan jade, and most of the jade in the Han Dynasty uses Hetian jade. In fact, since the Shang Dynasty, the jade used in ancient jade is mainly Hetian jade. The Hetian jade mentioned here refers to the Hetian jade produced in Xinyi in China, which is the "narrow sense of Hetian jade" generally recognized by the jade industry.
The Tianjin Museum houses the Neolithic Hongshan culture Jade Pig Dragon
Relative to the "narrow sense of Hetian jade", there is also a kind of "broad Hetian jade", which refers to the modern Hetian jade naming standard, as long as the mineral composition is tremolite-based jade, regardless of the place of origin can be called Hetian jade. These include: Russian jade, Qinghai jade, Korean jade, Canadian jade, etc. Although the main mineral composition of these "broad Hetian jade" is also based on tremolite, its jade texture is significantly different from that of Xinqi and Tianyu, and the most obvious thing is that its jade quality is not as good as that of Xinyi hetian jade. Most importantly, the history of the mining and use of these "broad hetian jade" only began to appear in the 1980s and 1990s, so if it can be accurately judged that the jade raw material is not Xinyi Hetian jade, but the above-mentioned emerging "broad Hetian jade", then this jade can fully explain that it is not an antiquity from the raw material.
Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng, early Warring States Dragon Phoenix Jade Pei
It is worth noting that in ancient jade, there are also a considerable part of jade raw materials that belong to "local jade". The so-called "local jade" refers to jade from other sources besides Xinyi and Tian jade, such as Xiuyan jade, Nanyang jade, Lantian jade and so on. However, there is an important principle in the production of ancient jade, that is, "good material with good work", that is to say, the exquisite workmanship of ancient jade, most of them use Xinqi hetian jade, because its jade is outstanding and rare and precious, since ancient times, the ancients have called Xinhetian jade "true jade". Therefore, at the beginning of the identification of ancient jade, a preliminary judgment can first be made from the jade raw materials.
The Shaanxi Museum holds the jade head of the four gods of the Western Han Dynasty
"Worker" means a carver
Ancient jade appraisal has always attached importance to the identification method of "micro-trace science".
Ancient jade was made entirely by human tools.
There is a clear difference between the carving traces of modern power tools and ancient human tools.
Modern power tools are characterized by extremely high speeds, so the traces produced when carving jade are obviously different from ancient human tools.
The jade treatment process of different historical periods in ancient times also has its own characteristics.
For example, in the process of making Hongshan culture jade, the use of scraping technology is very popular, so the surface of Hongshan jade has a unique tile groove pattern due to scraping;
During the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, bronze stone machines became the main jade tools, and the carving process of double hook milling method and one-sided slope method gradually became the mainstream;
The typical "one-sided slope" process of Western Zhou jade
Due to the popular application of iron stoneware in the Warring States period, the jade-making process has advanced by leaps and bounds, the modeling and decoration have become more and more precise, the carving and skeletonization are handy, the lines are strong and powerful, the drilling holes are symmetrical and smooth, and the polishing and surface polishing techniques have reached a very high level, and it is not too much to describe it as smooth as a mirror. These different craft characteristics of different historical periods, with their own distinctive characteristics of the times, are one of the important means of jade identification. This requires us to make a clear distinction between the traces of jade carving and the characteristics of jade tools in different historical periods through continuous observation and comparison. Such as shafts, bushings, speed, coaxiality, runout, deflection, electric and non-electric rotor structural characteristics, differences, rotor evolution process and so on. Generally speaking, experienced experts are judging from these aspects, of course, there will be some judgment tricks derived from reality, which requires years of experience summary.
The "gossamer wool carving" process in ancient jade
"Type" refers to the shape
Ancient jade utensils in different historical periods have different styling characteristics, such as Liangzhu culture jade, Warring States period jade bi, Tang Dynasty jade flying figures, Song Dynasty jade belt hooks, Ming Dynasty Zigang Pai, Qing Dynasty Yushanzi, etc., each with its own characteristics of the times. Therefore, we can distinguish the era of ancient jade through its styling characteristics. For example, although the Ming and Qing dynasties are not far apart, but the Ming and Qing Dynasty Longshou jade hook has obvious differences in shape, the Ming Dynasty Dragon Head Jade Belt Hook Dragon Head is wide and short, slightly square, the nose bridge is concave, and the eyes are protruding, while the Qing Dynasty Jade Belt Hook Dragon Head is higher than the Ming Dynasty, the forehead bulge is tumor-shaped, the mouth is wide and short, the neck is less curved, and it is more curved, giving people a sense of fierceness and might. The shape of jade in different historical periods reflects the style and cultural characteristics of the times in different historical periods, so it is of great practical significance to be familiar with and understand the characteristics of jade shapes in different historical periods.
Ming Dynasty dragon head jade with hook
Qing Dynasty dragon head jade with hook
"Pattern" is a rich and diverse ornament on fingerprint jade, and the ornamentation of jade in different historical periods often varies greatly in terms of composition, shape and theme. For jade, ornamentation is an important basis for the generation in addition to the type of vessel. Although ornaments are easy to be imitated, judging by ornaments alone, it is impossible to distinguish their authenticity, but it is also necessary to memorize the characteristics of the past generations of ornaments, which is called: do not understand the ornaments, only the pattern is not good. For example, the grain pattern on ancient jade that has flourished since the Warring States began. The grain pattern refers to the dot with a small tail, which is said to be an image of the germination of grain seeds to pray for the abundance of grain. There are many names for grain patterns, some called crouching silkworm patterns, and some called tadpole patterns.
The National Palace Museum in Taipei has a collection of Han Dynasty valley jade bi
However, the grain of different historical periods has different characteristics, such as the grain granules in the early Warring States period are slightly smaller, the papillae are pointed to the hands, and there are prominent "bud bends" at the bottom, which are not only densely arranged, but also evenly distributed and regular. In the late Warring States period, the grain patterns were mostly shaded with yin lines, and the circle turn was fluent but there were many hair marks, and the overall feel was smooth and undulating. The Valley pattern of the Han Dynasty inherits the style of the middle Warring States period, and the grains are mostly hemispherical papillae-like, and there is no obvious feeling of prickling and stabbing. In subtle places and difficult places of the chakra, it is often used to drill and drill depressions, and on the ground, swirl marks can often be seen. The ornamentation on ancient jade can reflect the different production periods of jade, if a jade with a typical Warring States shape appears on the Tang Dynasty ornamentation, then the authenticity of this jade will have to play a big question mark. Therefore, through the identification of jade ornamentation, it is an indispensable and important means in the identification of ancient jade.
The tomb of the King of Nanyue in the Western Han Dynasty is heavily decorated with jade pendants
"Qin" refers to Qin color
Qin color refers to a natural phenomenon in which jade comes into long-term contact with water, soil and other substances in a specific environment, and the naturally occurring water or minerals erode the jade body and change the color of the jade part or the whole. Qin color is usually an important identification criterion for a piece of ancient jade. Because jade is a heterogeneous mineral aggregate, there are differences in density and hardness, and it is subject to internal stress in the long geological age, coupled with the trace saws formed during the artificial preparation process, as well as some invisible cracks and the aging of the jade itself that existed before the adder.
Combined with these factors, jade is eroded by the osmosis of other surrounding substances, and the appearance of the color change or even qualitative change occurs. All the secondary changes of this non-native jade itself are "Qin". And the traces of discoloration and weathering erosion that it shows are called "Qin Phase".
Western Han Dynasty Nanyue King Tomb Jade Sword Head 1
Western Han Dynasty Nanyue King Tomb Jade Sword Head 2
Western Han Dynasty Nanyue King Tomb Jade Sword Head 3
Although for jade, Qinxiang itself is a flaw and defect, but at the same time it is also a kind of appearance sign of experiencing vicissitudes, which is one of the important bases for identifying the authenticity of ancient jade. For Qinse, the jargon is: to understand, to understand. Come and understand that even if the ancient jade is subjected, it will begin to enter from the traces, cracks, and looseness of the jade itself. To be clear, it means that there must be an explanation between the Qin color and the original jade color, and it will not stop abruptly at the groove. Qin color is divided into a variety of kinds, black Qin is called mercury Qin; lime Qin is called lime Qin, serious is called chicken bone white; colorless with small holes, called sand pit Qin; light yellow with small holes is called Tuqin; with green Qin color is called patina Qin and so on.
Western Han Dynasty Nanyue King Tomb Jade Horn Cup 1
Western Han Dynasty Nanyue King Tomb Jade Horn Cup 2
Jade Horn Cup of the Tomb of the King of Nanyue in the Western Han Dynasty (Partial)
The history of Chinese jade is long and long. In ancient times, jade was both a valuable ceremonial vessel and a literati's elegant play, reflecting both the level of material life and the pursuit of spiritual life. Its profound connotation and unique cultural value have always attracted the attention of the world, so the demand for jade in the collection community is also increasing, which has led to the continuous strengthening of the price of ancient jade. Driven by interests, the current jade market is "counterfeiting is the norm and counterfeiting is rampant", and if you are not careful, you will "hit the eye" and "take medicine". If you want to fully grasp the ancient jade identification method, it is not an overnight thing. The only way is to proceed from objective reality under the guidance of scientific appraisal theory, continuously study and study in depth, and go deep into the market, constantly sum up practical experience, and conduct scientific, objective, and comprehensive analysis and appraisal. I believe that friends who love ancient jade and traditional culture, as long as they continue to observe, compare, summarize, and constantly grasp and integrate the various characteristics of ancient jade, they will certainly be able to become experts in ancient jade identification in time.
Dragon head jomon jade ring in the Warring States period
(The article originates from the Internet, and the copyright belongs to the original author)