Jade and literature
Numerous books deal with jade. Most of them are written in English and in Chinese and they (we are talking about the English ones, since we don't understand Chinese) are very often the most interesting while books in other languages are very scarce or incomplete or translated from the English. Here are a few books which have been read by Eurojade : you will find at first details about the book, then Eurojade's opinion about it.
- "Jades Impériaux" by Teresa Battesti and Henri-Jean Schubnel, with Erik Gonthier's cooperation. French language catalogue of the exhibition of the National Museum of Historoy of Taoei, Taiwan, which took place in 1993 at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle of Paris.
Eurojade's opinion : this catalogue which is unfortunately out of print, shows superb pictures of the marvellous exhibition which we were lucky to visit in 1993 in Paris.
- "Jade" by Cecilia Lam Shiu Ling, published by Lead On Publishing Co, 2005, English language.
emmological Association of Great-Britain (like Eurojade's gemmologist), from Hong-Kong, is as splendid to look at as interesting to peruse. The photographs are wonderful. For everybody, except a few more technical parts for gemmologists. A fantastic must have, which should more widely be known.
Eurojade's opinion : small and compact, this book brings in a small volume a whole bunch of information about the jade worldwide. National Geographic pictures. Fred Ward is a gemmologist. A must have at a reasonable price (20 to 25 $).
l'avis d'Eurojade : un must-have at a very fair price (19.95 €), written by the Canadian geologist Stan Leaming, who is now (in 2011) 92 years old. This book examines jade's appeal among others as a global industry from the end of the 60's and a medium for artistic expression. We take a fascinating trip, hunting for the stone of heaven around the word. A very complete book, dealing not only with nephrite jade but also with jadeite jade. This book is very special to our heart since it was the trigger for this website.Thank you Mr. Leaming!
- "Jade" by Louis Zara (paperback, 112 pages, size 8.5 inches x 5.9, x 0.3, published by IUniverse, April 2001), English language (American English).
Eurojade's opinion : IUniverse is specialised in out of print books. These books are printed on recycled paper and with black and white photos, in order to reduce costs. Louis Zara (now deceased) has been a collector and a expert for more than 50 years. An interesting book for a small price (around 15 $).
- "Chinese Jades" by Ming Wilson (hard cover, 128 pages, size 9.7 inches x 8.2 x 0.6, published by the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, Great-Britain, August 2004), English language (British English).
Eurojade's opinion : this book is published by the Victoria & Albert Museum of London and illustrated by numerous and superb photographs of the museum collection. The author is senior curator of the Asia Department of the Museum and traces jade from the neolithic area to the 19th century. A very beautiful book.
- "Late Chinese Jades" : Ming Dynasty to Early Twentieth Century" by Terese Tse Bartholomew, Michael Knight, He Li and Kazuhiro Tsuruta for pictures (hard cover, 368 pages, size 12 inches x 9.6 x 1.5, published by the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, United States, November 2007), English language (American English).
Eurojade's opinion : published by the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, and written by three curators of the Arts of Asia Department of the museum, this book is very complete and tells about jade during Ming and Qing periods, about symbolism, etc. A splendid book.
- "Chinese Jade : Power and Delicacy in a Majestic Art (Arts of China)" by Minghua Zhang (hard cover paperback, 78 pages, size 7.5 inches x 5.4 x 0.4, published by Long River Press, August 2004), English language (American English).
Eurojade's opinion : a richly illustrated book which for describes for 15 $ the history of a few Chinese jade masterworks.
- "Gem Buyers Guide to Thailand" : How to select, negociate and purchase gems in Thailand" by Anong Jompang and Brett Wyatt (soft cover, 172 pages, size 10.1 inches x 6.1 x 0.6, published by the authors, Chiang Mai, Thailand, November 2007), English language.
Eurojade's opinion : the idea of the authors was a good one since they wanted to guide people among gem markets, particularly in Thailand. The first part is interesting, telling us about the various customs on these gem markets, giving us a list of the instruments to be used to observe gems. But gemmology cannot be teached or learned by reading a list of instruments. So there is no use to the second part, which pretends to help us make the difference between natural gems and simulants. Too good to be true. Moreover, the short part concerning jade is misleading, as the authors consider jadeite to be the only jade and not nephrite which is contrary to international gemmological rules. Rather expensive (25 $) and not worth buying.
- "Chinese jades" : from the Neolithic to the Qing" by Jessica Rawson (author), John Williams (photographer), David Gowers (photographer), paperback and hardcover edition, 463 pages, published by Art Media Resources, Ltd (December 1st, 2002), English language, size 10.6 x 8.6 x 1.3 inches.
Eurojade's opinion : Jessica Rawson was previously Keeper of Oriental Antiquities in the British Museum (London). This catalogue describes over 300 outstanding pieces from Sir Joseph Hotung's collection (room 33b of the British Museum), which spans the history of jade in China. Drawing upon the very latest archaeological research to set jade in its historical and artistic contest, this work is a reference. An essential visit and a book you must read (the book is out of print but can be found on internet - note November 2010).
link to Jade in children's literature...
