ArtFire

When I purchased this item from an antiques and antiquities dealer from Guangzhou, inland from Macau, I was told that the fish is an ancient Chinese symbol of abundance and wealth. In fact, she pointed out that relating the fish to wealth is based on the similarity of pronunciation, as 'fish' and 'abundance' are both pronounced "yu". A double fish symbol implies an abounding prosperity. It is even today used as decoration on furniture, jewelry and portrayed in paintings in China, according to the dealer, one of my favorite antiques and antiquities merchants in the East.

The pendant for sale here is made from very special jade gemstone. The old nephrite appears yellow with dark inclusions. But when I started to match beads with it and with the gold filled wire of the chain, I noticed that the jade talisman has a definite olive green tint to it. I tried various mellow types of wire before I decided on a mellow yellow 14 karat 1/10 gold filled round wire. The chain is strong and the designs will hold their shape with normal treatment. The chain is flexible and light in weight.
This jade amulet and the beads are translucent, which allows us to see beneath the skin of the stone. The hand carving is skillful and the fish are so natural that they seem to be competing for a piece of bait. From about seven thousand years ago, in the whole region of what is now China, jade was so precious that it was used as currency in trade and as tribute in the political economy.

I became interested in jade when I began to study the dragon symbol that has existed and still exists in so many of the ornamentation customs of humans. From statutes on temples to portrayals in Christian icons to tatoos on sailors, the dragon seems to be everywhere, but nowhere is it portrayed more than in China ancient and new.
Moreover jade was the medium in which the dragon symbol was presented most often. Jade was considered as noble as gold. It implied long life, authority, purity and beauty.    As the seller of this piece wrote, 'Since the love of jade goes back to the earliest times of history in China, way before written records, jade also stands for the immense pride in the deep roots and unbroken continuity of this culture.'

From the coloration of this jade piece, acquired by age, I would guess this piece to be more than one hundred years old, but probably not more than 300 years old. The pendant is carved with the same image front and back. The side that was exposed the most is darker than the side worn against the wearer's body. The amulet may have come from the Tibetan Plateau jade workers, as the fish symbol is used extensively in Tibet.  But in some manner, it made its way to Guangzhou to an antiques and antiquities shop. I did not even have to go there. The dealer sent it to me. Thank Goodness for the global village.

The round beads are also old nephrite jade, approximately 8 mm. I designed and made the chain especially for this piece from 20 gauge round 1/10 gold filled wire which should hold its beauty for centuries.

The chain is 17 inches (43 cm) long.
Amulet Size:5.8x4x0.8 (cm) Weight: 21g (0.75 oz)

I was inspired by the traditional jade carvings of the earliest societies in the East. Particularly the jade carvings of a time when the jade workers had only very primitive tools. When jade was first used to produce their protective amulets, totems and talismans, they did not have metal instruments. Their ritual and personal jade ornaments were made by patiently grinding the shape with wet grit on a stone. Then by the Early Bronze Age, they had learned to smelt ore and could make copper or copper and tin (bronze) saws and blades. Gradually through the millennia, the jade carvers have brought the art to perfection.

jade and 1/10 14 karat gold-filled wire

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On certain items, the shipping will be free.

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