Find Authentic Chinese Jade on eBay

Find Authentic Chinese Jade on eBay ( a bit more easily)

On Ebay you can find and buy both authentic old-antique carved Chinese jade, as well as fakes copied to deceive the uninitiated, so be cautious. So, when we talk here about how to find authentic Chinese Jade on eBay we will be focusing on the old and antique examples.

The term jade has for many in the antiques world become nearly synonymous as an art form from China, when you hear the word jade, China nearly always we think of only China.  While jade historically was and is carved as an art form in many cultures throughout the world from Central America to New Zealand, China is what comes to mind first for most people.

Fully understanding jade and it's history is way beyond the scope of anything which can be done here. However it is hoped this post will serve as a contribution to those who are fascinated by the topic and are interested in finding and buying examples for a collection or gallery inventory. While we cannot teach you all you need to learn about jades,

For more information about jades and to see some fine examples, scroll to the bottom of this page for a list of links on them.

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Jades Currently on eBay

 

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Finding Old Carved and Authentic Chinese Jade on eBay, the basics

While it is certainly true many examples of carved jade are misrepresented on the site, antique and old well carved examples can be found in relative abundance, if you have a strategy on how and where to look. Many very fine examples are in fact found there on a daily and weekly basis. These authentic examples are sold by fine quality antique dealers from around world from; North America, the European Union, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and South America. Many offer regularly some excellent examples well worth collecting. For these sellers eBay is plain and simple business venue, not unlike an antique or private gallery. In short, this is where they sell, due to eBay's long reach into the Antiques community globally.

Happily on occasion, some real rarities appear there also from less knowledgeable sellers who picked up a great example at a yard sale, through inheritance or at a small local live estate auction.  These listings are the fun part of course and why thousands of knowledgeable dealers globally hunt eBay on a regular basis. Finding them is of course the hard part.

So, how do you find real antique or old carved Chinese jades on the site? Do you know how and where to look? If you want to find Chinese jade on eBay , we can help.

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On eBay there are two ways to search

• Site Searching: Go to Chinese Antiques, type in "Jade" and start scrolling, maybe adjust a few filters to include only listing from the US or North America. You can also go to eBay in the EU and filter out everything from anyplace other than the EU.  Its clumsy, time consuming and will take a long tome to find anything worth looking at.
• Instead, click here Search by Dealer or eBay user name:  This is the smart way. Certain sellers on a fairly regular basis have access to and list some terrific examples every week or two or perhaps only a few times a year.  Learn who those sellers are and keep track of them, this is where we come in. FINDING good and great eBay sellers is what we do.

Like it says on the Home Page Our Mission: Bidamount has been developed to aid collectors and dealers in finding Asian works of art as well as western antiques on eBay from reputable dealers throughout the world.  To help buyers, we also offer information through regularly updated blogs and “Resources”  image archives to broaden the knowledge base of  buyers to make the best decisions when buying.

Our job here is to find the sellers...including sellers of good to fine quality jades (as well as many other types of antiques) we've been New England dealers, appraisers and auctioneers for over 35 years. Bidamount is an eBay Partner search site for collectors and dealers of Asian and western antiques. In short we want you to find authentic Chinese Jade on eBay and we want to help you do it.

Get our Free weekly eBay "NewsLetter-Letter Watch List" and check our home page to see the offerings by over 100 hundred of eBay's top sellers of Asian antiques.

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A Brief Look At The History And Uses Of Chinese Jades

Once you've learned the difference between jadeite and nephrite (both are jade types) differentiated by their own particular structure and coloration, you can then learn about carving styles and how they relate to a particular period or style or use. While looking for authentic Chinese jade on eBay try and learn the styles and forms as you study, it will go a long way to your self education.

Jade has been an important medium for Chinese artists going back thousands of years.

Jade Origins And Types

Since the era of the Majiabang, Liangzhu and Hongshan cultures (4700-2900 BCE), the vast majority of jade carvings have been carved from nephrite or jadeite, Prior to around 1800 Chinese jades were near;y always of nephrite. Jadeite is about as hard as quartz, with nephrite being a little softer. Both however have a hardness equal to or greater than steel. Due to the stone's extreme hardness the traditional method of carving jade was done by wearing it away with carborundum sand applied with a softer tipped tool.  Today most are made from air powered and electric tools fitted with diamond bits.  Historically, those owning and wearing jade was limited to Chinese tribal leaders, in time jade became very popular with Emperors and noblemen. For centuries jade was most often used as a raw material for making ritual vessels, ceremonial utensils and other totemic objects.

• Nephrite: Traditionally, since ancient times, nephrite was used for nearly all jade carvings. The stone is composed of crystalline calcium magnesium silicate whihc without impurities is pure , nearly snow white. However a few impurities such as iron, the colors found can range from black to grey, green and even yellow.
• Jadeite: Jadeite historically came into favor with carvers around 1800 AD when it began to be imported primarily from Myanmar, also know as Burmese jade. The mineral content is technically a sodium-aluminum silicate, also very hard, harder than Nephrite and was available in color ranges not found in traditional Nephrite. They stone's colors can range form a very brilliant apple green to pink, orange and even lavender.

Jade Purposes and Uses

During Neolithic times most carvings were fashioned into ax heads, chisels, knives and arrowheads or spear tips. In addition jades were also fashioned in the shape of ritual vessels with animal shapes including dragons and phoenix reliefs. Many jades were also used as tomb objects to be buried with the dead for good luck and use in the afterlife to protect the deceased and for the purification of the soul.

In time new uses were found for jades. Including objects for the scholar's table such as brush pots and handles, brush washers, scroll weights, seals and small animal and mythical objects for amusement and contemplation. Eventually large jades were fashioned into decorative vases, bowls, alter pieces, plates and as panels in floor and table screens reflective of popular bronze and  porcelain styles, Further, jades were of course fashioned into numerous types of jewelry from belt buckles, to beaded necklaces for the court and Buddhist rituals as well as bracelets, hairpins and even fine buttons for clothing.

To learn more about this fascinating topic, check some of the links at the end of this page.

 

Authentic Chinese Jade on eBay, what you can find

A Visual guide from our archives of past eBay items.

While jade belt hooks can be rather hard to find at local auctions and antique shops, they do tend on turn up eBay regularly as there is a strong demand for them around the world and frankly eBay is the best place to sell them. Very often examples bought at Christies South Kensington where they are often sold in lots of two or three, get re-sold on eBay. The same can be said for mirrors made between the 1890's and 1930's, these were popular to western buyer's 100 years ago and were often sold by fine department stores in their antiques and jewelry departments.

Jade jewelry dating from the late 19th and early 20th C. can also often be found, usually being offered by generalist jewelry sellers who buy them from a variety of sources, including tag sales, auctions and on consignment from the estate departments of law firms. Asian art dealers often make these offerings.

Jade was often re-mounted for use in the homes of well to do western and Chinese homes during the 1900's to the 1930's. Always keep your eye's peeled for old labels and dealer or retail stores names who specialized in these offerings. A few are, Yamanaka Co., Jordan Marsh & Co., GUMPS, Marshal Field Department Store, Shreve-Crump & Low, Edward Farmer NY and on occasion  Daniel Low & Co. . All are useful indications of a good provenance while doing some looking.  Many used pieces which today are often quite rare and valuable.

 

Collections on occasion also appear of multiple jade belt hooks, some collections can be found today with dozens in old New England and European estates left over from the day when they were very fashionable.

A Cased Jade vase and box

A nice 19th C. Chinese carved jade vase with it's original lid and fine hardwood presentation box. A quick look at the sellers images of the box, give a good indication to the authenticity and age of the carving. If you know jade carvings well enough, you do not need the box to help in dating. This vase was being offered on eBay through a charitable reliugio9us group who sell on eBay to support their organization. This vase was a donation from a generous supporter. Having the box, makes this a very desirable offering.

Chinese Jade Scepters

A terrific old carved 19th C. Chinese jade nephrite Ruyi head scepter fitted with jade plaques.

A cased 19th C. Chinese Ruyi Head Scepter with one plaque.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more, Links to images and additional information on Authentic Chinese Jade

Chinese Jade Image Archive for the National Palace Museum Collection.

A Brief History of Chinese Jades Click Here 

Chinese Jade History at The British Museum

• Thank you for visiting, Peter and Francesca Combs, Gloucester, Massachusetts
  

  plcombs, Chinese Antiques and Oriental Art, Gloucester, MA