Of all the stone in the world, some would say Jade has more going for it than any other stone.  Diamonds are sparkling and beautiful to look at, but they are limited in the shapes they can acquire due to its crystalline structure.  Jade however is a stone that can be fashioned into anything the human mind can imagine.  It is soft, cool to the skin, and maintains an inner glow regardless of age.  It is nearly flawless, can not be chipped into shape by a hammer and chisel, and must be lovingly caressed into shape through gentle abrasion.  It must be ground down.  Forcing it any other way,  it will spall and splinter into a million worthless pieces.  It takes a loving hand and a keen eye to make it into something beautiful. It is a stone unto itself.

One of the greatest misconceptions about jade is it only comes in green.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Jade has all the spectrums of the rainbow in it.  It is often translucent.  It can be opaque.  It can be mottled in color, speckled, or appear in different bands and hues.  Some of it is pure white, while others may be amber to red.  Only a master craftsman can veiw this material and know the best way to create an object that can capture its best features.  The use of Jade is thousands of years old.   It has been fashioned into archaic hair-pins, combs, beads, and pendents.  It is often fashioned into talisman for good luck, or into a figurine for simple pleasure.  Bottles with resealable lids have been fashioned from this stone, and are still being made today.   Most of its use today is in jewelry.

Fortunately, ancient Jade, is still plentiful.  With the opening of  trade with China,  China has proven to be an un-ending source for ancient Jade.  It was used there through countless centuries by millions of people who left some of the finest artwork behind that is now finding its way into the collecting markets.  It can be expensive -- but expensive is a relative term when rarity and craftsmanship are considered -- and it can be very affordable depending on the size and subject matter it was worked into.  Most of what is being sold today is in the form of pendents, good luck charms, and beads.  It can speak volumes about what the people of yesterday considered to be the most important things in  their life.  It speaks of war, hunger, the fear of locusts, and the need for money to pay for everyday life's necessity.

This group of jade are all representations of cicada's.  Cicada's are a locust like insect that breeds once every 17 years.  When they emerge they can become a swarm capable of destroying virtually every green plant in its path.  They have even been noted eating clothing.  These were a terrifying events in ancient China and other parts of the world. 

The first is from the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD).  Note its colors and how the carvings made it life-like. The colors in the stone were used to bring realism to the carving, making this a desirable piece for collecting or wear. 

 The center one is from the Six Chinese dynasties during the periods of the the Three Kingdoms (220-280 AD, Jin Dynasty (265-420), Southern Dynasty (420-589), and Northern Dynasties (420-589).  The representations are similar, but despite the political upheavel of the time, it is artistic, yet not true to form. The stone, although a beautiful white jade,  is bland, lacking any real color  It's artwork and craftsmanship saves this piece as an attractive jewlery item for wear or collecting.

The third cicada is from the Warring States period (428-221 BC).  Although the oldest the stone  it is plain and  not true to form.  This would suggest a period of uncertainty and the loss of artistic desire.  It is almost fatalistic; as if to say, "Why bother.  I may be dead tomorrow".  As far as collectability; this makes a good example of period work. The color is nice, but lack of detail smothers the piece and probably would not be desirable for jewelry wear.

  This grouping has a different and more upbeat theme.  The first two photos are amulets from the Han Dynasties.  The First from the Eastern Han (25 - 220 AD) and the Second from the Western Han (206 BC - 9 AD).  The first is probably a talisman to help bring wealth to its wearer. Although all white, the overlapping coins makes this a very nice piece for collecting or wear.  In fact it sold so high I couldn't afford to touch it.  Notice the real-life engraving and the multi-layering that gives this piece depth.  A true work of art. T

he second is also a talisman; however, it contains words asking for peaceful co-existence suggesting all things are not right in paradise.  The color of the jade is a very nice gold.  The coins are well done and layering gives the piece depth.  The center hole makes wearing it a little difficult, but not impossible.  This is a super example of  craftsmanship.

The Third and final is from the Yang Dynasties (1279 AD -1368 AD).  Although much newer it demonstrates money was still a desirable thing and was more than likely worn by a fisherman hoping it will help him bring in enough fish that will sell for lots of money.  The fish are carved tightly together, and the coins provide depth.  The cord attaching the fish to the coins add realisim.  This is a nice piece for wear or collecting.

Many things were considered lucky in early China. 

The first photo is from the Shang Dynasty (1766 BC - 1027 BC) and is known as Two Lucky Monkees Bring Peach.  It was a custom of the early Chinese they could not be held accountable by what an animal did even if it were a pet.  After all a monkey can't help being a monkey and animals can't be blamed for feeding on fruits and other items growing in nature.  It was not uncommon for an owner to train their monkey to fetch fruit from a tree.  It was considered even luckier when the monkey thought so high of its master it gave some of the fruit it picked to him; thus the monkey was lucky and brought fruit to eat. The monkies are carved true to life and are posed as real monkies might be found; one hugging the other.  This is an attractive collecting piece and would make a nice charm for those who find this subject matter appealing.

 Bats were considered lucky and thought to fly into infinity as they are seen but for a few moments before disappearing into the night.  They were often featured as bringers of money and good things.  In fact, large fruit bats have been known to carry off ripened fruits just to drop them moments later during their feeding frenzy upon un-suspecting and hungry population.  This was as close as food from heaven one could get at the time,  and thus something being touched by a bat was considered lucky as shown in photo 2 of a dog being touched by a bat. 

This particular piece dates to the Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC - 256 BC).   Note the exaggerated right wing reaching out to touch the dog on the head.  By touching the dogs head right afterwards the luck was transferred to the person doing the touching.  Note how the dog is in reprose and seemingly not concerened with the presence of the bat.  This suggest the owner is at peace and there is nothing to fear.  Very interesting since most of us would panic should a bat land on any of us...lol...This is stylish and true to form.  Very nice jewlery and collecting object.

And last but not least the Snake Coiled around a mouse.  This wonderful example is from the Song Dynasty (960 AD-1279 AD), and near the time of the Dark Ages in Europe and the great plague that killed nearly 2/3rds of the population.  Snakes were considered lucky in they controlled the mice population and often one was left alone in a house should it take up residence with the people.  Having a snake over the doorway was considered very lucky in that you were nearly guranteed not to have a rodent problem.  Perhaps the Chinese even understood it was the flea from such mice that brought the plague.  The carving is realistic if not a little gruesome for most of us.  The color is terrific going from white to a reddish brown from the middle forward, almost as if the squeezing of the snake has caused the mouse to turn red, giving it a touch of realism.  Although most might find this a little odd to wear, for others  such as those who are into Gothic Dress or someone just wanting  an eye-catching, stand out piece, this would be the item for them!  Very collectable and very artfully done.

IDENTIFYING THE OLD FROM NEW:

Telling Old Jade from new is difficult to put on paper.  It just takes time to learn how it should look.  Usually old jade will hold bits of minerals in the cracks and holes called patina, but much of it is cleaned in large sonic vats that can really scrub the age away.  Then you have to go by feel such as are the edges of the engraved areas sharp or dulled.  They should be dulled.  Over-cleaning is not an attempt to pass off old Jade as New Jade.  The Chinese art simply cleaning the age from it to allow the true beauty of the carving and stone to shine through.  They are required by law to make sure very little dirt leaves China.  It must be very clean and to do it by hand would be time consuming. 

One of the best ways to tell old from new is to look at photos of modern and old.  The new stuff looks very plastic like.  It is milled out on machines and polished to high hue.  It often is very transparent looking or as if it had been oiled.  It just looks new!

Take a hard look at the seller's history and reviews.  If they are passing off bad stuff it can be reflected in comments left; however, since many ebayer's are fearful of reprisials this is not always reliable; however, there is one thing the seller can't do.  He can not consistently offer different jade items for a prolonged period of time unless it is old.  By watching his listings and auctions see how many times the same item is offered.  I don't mean similar items such as ciccada's but identical items that nearly mirror previous auction photos.  If a seller is moving new stuff, his inventory will be low and you will see items that are nearly identical in carvings over and over again.  Fakers usually limit themselves to items that bring the highest prices and have a limited skill in reproducing different carvings.  A reputable dealer who really wholesales in this stuff will have many different items and the frequency of repeating carvings will virtually be non-existentant.  No two will ever look identical to another and the subject matter will not repeat itself over and over again.  There are dealers on ebay you can look at and see auctions days out, making it easier to study jade.  Those who offer items for several days out and have a decent number of listings are probably the most reptuable.  By looking in advance you will quickly spot what items may be newer, but for the most part  you will not find replicated items with those who are legitmate and have a large listing. 

The best advice I can give beyond this is if the piece is attractive to you, and it can be reasonably obtained at a very affordable price, then you can't get hurt in buying it.  Someone else will probably be willing to buy it from you should you choose to sell it at the same cost or even for a profit.  The trick is to buy the well carved, attractive pieces that show lots of craftsmanship and work and avoid the small stuff with little or no work.  You are buying art.  Much of  it will be thousands of years old and should be appreciated for what it is.

PLEASE READ MY OTHER JADE RELATED GUIDES,  "A DATE WITH JADE - DYNASTY TIMELINES" TO CORRECTLY DATE YOUR ITEM AND "SYMBOLISM IN JADE - Understanding its purpose"

PLEASE VOTE ON THESE GUIDES IF YOU FIND THEM HELPFUL AND ANY FEEDBACK WOULD BE APPRECIATED.  THESE ARE ALWAYS UNDERGOING REVISION TO CHECK BACK FROM TIME TO TIME FOR NEW ADDITIONS AND INFORMATION AS IT BECOMES AVAILABLE.