Jade Leis

I have found yet another use for my miscellaneous jade charms. By attaching them to a vintage silver chain,  a " jade lei" is formed.

Jade Lei composed of jade charms or amulets

According to wikipedia a lei is defined as :

Lei is a garland or wreath. More loosely defined, a lei is any series of objects strung together ... Often the composition of a lei determine the meaning behind a lei; a lei made using a hala fruit for instance is said to be connected to love, desire, ... etc 

For me the meaning behind my jade lei is just my love for jade, and here's a closeup look at my lucky charms.

close up of  charms on lei

The second lei I made mostly from white and off white pieces of vintage jade.

jade lei 2 on qing dynasty silver chain

Although carved from   lower quality jade  the charms in the second lei are no less interesting. An eclectic assortment of jade charms including  animals and insects,  as fish, rabbit, cicada and several  fruits, a hand and a fan are represented in the closeup below.

an assortment of jade charms from fan to hand

Queer Fish

This brown fish is, um a    bird !

looks like a fish

Picked up among the riff-raff of a flea market in China it is a tantalising piece of jade. My first impression was that it resembled a fish lying on its belly. I can even see fins and the scales.

But turn the fish upside down and hey presto it becomes a    bird !

looks like a bird

What looked like fins are now the feet. Just love these trick pieces :))

Is it ancient ?The stone is weathered and old. The piece looks handcarved. The obverse is almost completely corroded but traces of the original carving which is identical to the good side can still be seen.

Corroded side



Flat animal carvings like my fish/bird are often assigned to  the Shang-Zhou dynasty (1600-256BC) While this piece feels somewhat archaic, there is also something suspicious about the carving style. What is that eye-looking motif doing in the bird's wing ? The normal pattern should end with a 'C' scroll. Here it looks more like an eye from a Picasso painting ! What a mixmatch of styles, shapes, and periods. It could be some form of hybrid  art.

Wrong Eye!

Modern Art ?

Is this neolithic art, mordern art or forgers art. Well  interpretation may well be in the Eyes of the Beholder :))  Meanwhile this inexpensive piece has given me much thoughts to ponder.