Bulletin Winter 1976

Exhibition of Carved Jades An Exhibition of Carved Jades through the Ages is staged at the Art Gallery from December 1976 to August 1977. It consists of over three hundred pieces of jade carvings, dating from the neolithic period to the eighteenth century. However, the Exhibition is not just another comprehensive exhibition of Chinese jades but concentrates on several classes of carvings which have hitherto received little scholarly attention. One of the salient features of the Exhibition is the large number of animal carvings dating from the Han to the Ming periods. An attempt will be made in the catalogue to study changes in the style of animal representation in jade during the period in question. Another important group in the Exhibition will be the carvings of the Yuan and Ming periods, including both vessels and ornaments such as belt-plaques, pendants and hair-pins. White jade pieces from the late 16th to the 18th centuries, either bearing the signature of the famous jade carver, Lu Tzu-kang or carved in his style, will form another special group in the Exhibition. It is hoped to establish some criteria for the dating of the carvings in this group. Yet another interesting group in the Exhibition consists of representations of human figures, dating from the T'ang to the early Ch'ing periods, in particular, the representation of children holding lotus plants and musical instruments will be the subject of special study, as they have been a constant theme in Chinese jade carving since Southern Sung times. The archaic section is comparatively weak but includes some important and exciting pieces such as the kneeling figure of the Shang period and the pair of dragon-shaped pendant pieces of the Warring States. A group of pi-discs in the Exhibition demonstrates the evolution in the decorative designs on this particular class of archaic jade from the neolithic to Han times. For comparative purposes some archaistic jades and copies of archaic jades will also be included in the Exhibition.