Chapter 2 Jade Carving - Mandarin Duck Jade Carving Process

Mt. Shinwu

2024-05-17 11:04:26

Mandarin duck jade carving process

Distinguish jade

Mandarin duck jade is produced from ultramafic rocks in the area of Yuanyang Town, and its chemical composition is serpentine, carbonate, talc, magnetite and chromium spinel. The mineral name is serpentine, which is a kind of young jasper. The origin of mandarin duck jade is that when shale is in the regional crustal movement, it is buried deep underground, subjected to strong pressure and heat, and undergoes qualitative change and becomes harder. At the same time, the long cracks along the layer are developed, and the short and sparse gaps perpendicular to the layer are developed, and the spinel minerals that are metamorphosed between the walls of each seam emit a dazzling luster, coupled with the background color of dark green, turquoise, emerald green, yellow and green, etc., the pattern is wonderful, like a serpentine pattern, like a waterfall, and like the clouds in the sky, which is extraordinarily gorgeous. And the texture is dense, the texture is hard, delicate and uniform, and there is a certain transparency, blockiness and compressive strength.

According to its material, the artists process it into a variety of delicate and delicate jade handicrafts and multi-faceted marquetry plates. Mandarin duck jade has good processing performance and is easy to polish with hemp level. Physical properties: water absorption rate 0.5%, hardness Mohs 6 degrees, compressive strength 898.3kg/cm. The chemical composition of the ore is mainly: 3MgO.4SiO2H,O, and its composition is: MgO 39.11%, SiO₂38.24%, Fe2O 35.45%, Ca0 0.77%. People love jade ornaments and jade carving, but few people know the method of jade identification, in fact, jade identification is also a piece of jade knowledge, if you love jade, you must learn.

Eye-to-eye color method

Mandarin duck jade is serpentine jade, the jade pattern is fine, such as serpentine, rich in magnetite and limonite, and the magnetite can be verified as true or false.

Analytical texture method

The texture of Hetian jade is dense and delicate, moisturizing and soft, with oily luster, giving people a sense of softness and rigidity, especially white jade; Other jade also has a delicate texture, but the moisturizing and oily luster are not as good as Hetian jade. Mandarin duck jade is just a combination of the advantages of the two, because the mandarin duck jade is hidden deep in the mine, and the outside air contact is less, the fine mandarin duck jade meat is hard, very delicate, and resistant to high temperature and cold, and the production of luminous glass wine is more elegant.

Jade efficacy

According to the "Compendium of Materia Medica", Mandarin duck jade has the special effect of changing water quality, under the conditions of specific water temperature (about 90 °C), the jade can release 26 kinds of trace elements, and has a good prevention and treatment effect on many chronic diseases (such as hypertension, diabetes, stones, constipation, etc.). The jade water has strong permeability, high solubility, fast heat conduction, two-way regulation effect on the body, has the characteristics of sterilization and detoxification, active water molecules, etc., can eliminate acidic metabolites in the human body, and normalize the water in the human body. Long-term drinking can effectively change the sub-health physique, health, beauty and longevity, so it is loved and sought after by many collectors and health professionals.

There are industry definition standards for how to distinguish the quality of mandarin duck jade. Characteristics and identification methods of mandarin duck jade: the specific gravity of mandarin duck jade is 2.9-3.1, and the hardness is 6-

6.5, warm and delicate, soft luster, translucent or opaque. The ancients summarized the "five virtues" for Mandarin Duck Jade, that is, five characteristics: tough texture, warm luster, brilliant color, dense and transparent tissue, and soothing and far-reaching sound. The folk method of identifying mandarin duck jade is very simple but very effective, one is the steel knife stroke method, the jade piece with bright color and fine stone from the appearance, with a small steel knife with a hardness of 5.5-6 scratched a few times, and there is no trace of the mandarin duck jade. The second is the method of scratching glass, using jade pieces to scratch the glass with a hardness of 5-5.5, the scratches are clear and cut by a knife, indicating that the hardness of mandarin duck jade is high. The third is the drip observation method, due to the high density of mandarin duck jade, after the water drops on it, the edge of the water droplet is neat and does not spread. The fourth is the hand touch method. Take the jade piece in your hand, touch it, rub it, and it will feel warm and smooth. Fifth, the inspection method, the jade will be facing the back of the light, such as the sun or light, where the color is clear, the structure is uniform is the best mandarin duck jade.

Appraisal process

Due to the continuous improvement of people's requirements for the fineness of jade, the jade people are constantly looking for and trying more advanced equipment. For example, the dental machine is borrowed from the dentist's medical equipment, and its flexibility is the best among all models. Therefore, it is mainly used in detail processing, so as to achieve the purpose of fine carving.

Mandarin duck jade carving mainly includes material selection, peeling, design, rough carving, fine carving, trimming and polishing and other processes.

Material selection, peeling

In most cases, it is designed according to the jade material, which is the so-called "adaptation of art". Jade, especially gravel jade that has been abrasively eroded by river water, often has a layer of oxide layer on the surface, and how to extend the crack and texture needs to be understood before carving, so that it is possible to do a good job in jade carving design. Of course, the good skin of jade cannot be peeled off at will, and sometimes the different colors on the surface of jade can be used to design, and the carved can become the beautiful color of jade, improving the value of jade.

devise

Jade design is the key to carving jade. Generally speaking, designers often design carved subjects according to the color, fineness, texture and shape of jade. Choose a subject that suits the characteristics of the jade. First of all, it is necessary to maximize the use of jade materials, and design according to the degree of jue and the shape of jade materials, so that jade materials can not be wasted; Make good use of color to produce the best results; Try to get rid of the cracks and blemishes on the jade pieces.

Coarse carving

After the jade piece is hooked, it can be rough carving, rough carving can also be called billet, that is, according to the design requirements of the jade carved into shape, the basic shape of the design jade carving is initially achieved. Rough carving is very important, this process is the basis of the success of the whole jade carving, once the jade is carved, it is difficult to turn back, it can really be said that it is difficult to collect the water, so be cautious before carving.

Fine carving and finishing

Fine carving, as the name suggests, means careful carving. After the outline of the jade is roughly carved, it must be carefully carved to complete the entire process of jade carving. The purpose of fine carving is to further refine the shape of jade carving, so that the flowers, birds, fish and insects, people, landscapes, birds and animals can be accurately shaped from the vague outline state, showing the real, realistic, dynamic and expressive process of subtle carving.

polished

Polishing is a very important and irreplaceable link in jade carving. No matter how you carve and polish, the surface of the jade piece is always rough, not showing the crystal clear beauty of the jade, only the perfect polishing can make the jade show a warm and smooth appearance, in order to make the jade have a noble temperament, in order to show the true value of the jade.

Trimming, engraving and inscription

The final repair is not necessary, but sometimes it is crucial. Because some defects in the design and production process are not found, they need to be repaired after polishing. In addition, the designer may need to engrave the jade carving work, which is usually processed after the work is completed.

Identification of jade

As a jade lover, do you know how to identify Mandarin Duck Jade Rough? The identification of the mandarin duck jade rough is the most difficult, the most risky, and the most extensive in the entire mandarin duck jade identification, and it is more difficult to identify the mandarin duck jade rough. There are three major skills for identifying Mandarin Duck Jade Rough:

Tip 1: Splash water

Pour a small amount of water on the shell of the mandarin duck jade rough, if the water penetrates into the shell very quickly, that is, the wet shell will dry out quickly, then this is a tender rough stone; On the other hand, if the water penetrates more slowly, that is, the wet skin shell dries more slowly, then it is an old rough stone. The principle is mainly due to the different structural compactness of the old and tender rough stones.

The structure of mandarin duck jade is very dense, the spacing between crystal individuals is very small, and the water is not easy to penetrate into the inside of the jade, and most of the water molecules can only stay on the surface of the jade to slowly evaporate and disappear, so the surface of the jade is dried for a long time after sprinkling water; However, the structure of the young mandarin duck jade is relatively loose, and the gap between the crystal individuals is wider, and the water can easily penetrate into the jade, and the water molecules staying on the surface of the jade are becoming less and less, so it is observed that the drying speed of the wet jade surface is faster.

Tip 2: Observe the fog layer method

At the incision of the jade, observe the fog layer at the position close to the weathered shell of the Mandarin Duck jade rough, if the fog layer is relatively thin (about a finger wide or narrower), this is an old rough stone; If the fog layer is thick (two fingers wide or more), it is a tender rough stone. This method is only suitable for judging the old and tender germplasm of Mandarin duck jade rough with secondary fog layer.

The reason for this is still related to the formation of the geological structure of Mandarin Duck Jade. The crystal structure of the raw material of mandarin duck jade is very dense, the gap between the crystals is very small, and the particles of materials such as silica molecules that form common white fog and limonite iron hydroxide colloidal molecules that constitute red and yellow fog are relatively large, so it is difficult for these foreign minerals to penetrate the shell and invade the inside of the ore with the crystal gap, so they can only barely form a thin layer of fog around the weathered shell; And for the tender raw materials. The crystal structure is relatively loose and the crystal gap is wide, which provides great convenience for the invasion of the above-mentioned secondary minerals, so a thick fog layer will be formed.

Tip 3: Observe the shell method

Carefully observe the sand grains on the weathered skin of the rough stone and touch it with your hands to experience its texture. If the sand grains are upright, evenly distributed, hard, rough and piercing, then this is an old jade; On the contrary, if the sand grains are not prominent enough, the distribution is uneven, and the texture is soft and easy to fall off, then this is a tender rough stone.

It should be noted that this method and the jade characteristics involved in it are not suitable for the following types of rough stone shells: water-turned sand shells, peeling shells, lime shells, waterstone shells, wax shells, etc. Due to the special nature of these shells, they need to be analyzed separately.

(Contributed by Chen Jiali)