Saturday, March 11, 2017

National Palace Museum, Taipei, Part III (故宮)

More photos from the National Palace Museum (故宮). These are from the jade collection.

TL;DR: jades were tools first before they became jewelries. From a practical stand point, it makes sense. We use diamonds as tools now too. Other than in a social setting blinging others into blindness, diamonds are set into gold cutting and carving machines, for example. They are rocks, after all.
 

Click to zoom.

 




If that looks like a face to you, that's because these are funerary jade, used to cover and/or plug bodily orifices of the deceased. Check out this short clip from the Smithsonian.






See my previous posts:

2 comments:

Citrine said...

I love looking at jade and stones whenever I visit a museum but I am slowly transitioning to pearls now. Anyway, I finds those little trinkets more interesting than the chunky pieces from the imperial family.

D. said...

Hey Mina,

Agree. I don't like chunky jewelries to begin with. But that jade room divider though. Imagine that whole thing falling over with a wee bit of shaking from an earthquake. Nooooooo

D.

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