Chains Carved Out of a Single Piece of Jade Rock
Chinese Jade Chain Vases
 

The Chinese have revered and carved Jade and Nephrite for generations, and still do. The modern 20^th century carvers use all the latest machinery and technology to carve this very hard, brittle material.  But all of the antique jade carvings were lovingly made by hand and have been highly valued throughout the ages.

Personally, I far prefer the antique jade carvings (up to the first part of the 19^th century) as these were always carved from a single stone, with rather basic tools, and they often took a very long time to complete. Yet, most of these carvings have qualities that are far more beautiful than the modern ones. They managed to carve attractive bottles and vases that are wonderfully hollowed out, sometimes through such a small opening at the top, as is the case with Snuff Bottles, it is incredible how they have been made, so that even the shoulders of the bottles are finely hollowed. 
     

'The Cohen Collection'
 

What I also find fascinating are the amazing vases, with covers, which are connected by a chain, where everything has been carved out of just one stone! I even know of some jade vases with covers that have a double chain attaching the cover to the vase on either side.  
 

'The Cohen Collection'
 

There are some where the cover is separate and the double chain is used to hang the vase from an elaborate, often pierced, carved jade hanger.
    

I.M. Chait Gallery/Auctioneers
 

I have not found any reference on how jade chains are carved on the Internet, or anything about jade-chained vases so I decided to publish this article. But I did find an interesting YouTube.com video, on how to carve chains from a single piece of wood and I presume this is how the chains would also have been carved in other materials, including jade.  

But to consider how difficult it must be to conceive of carving a beautiful well proportioned (well hollowed out) vase, plus a perfectly fitting cover, with a long chain of evenly formed links, all to be carved out of a single jade boulder is something I find quite staggering! 
    

'The Cohen Collection'
 

Which brings me to the question of value. For some reason, currently, Chinese jade-chained vases are not that highly valued, in monetary terms, compared with other antique jade carvings. This is because connoisseurs and antique jade collectors consider them, as nothing more than cabinet pieces, simply made for display rather than for use, and worse still they were only made for the export market! 

I too, as a collector, tend to value more the Chinese carvings that were made for personal use; such as pendants, snuff bottles, water droppers, archer's rings and handling pieces. But as there are such an amazing amount of high quality skills involved, in carving these chained vases, I do feel that these lovely works of art should be far more highly appreciated. Fashions do exist in the collecting world and I am sure one day, these chained vases will be highly sought after.