Translucent World: Chinese Jade from the Forbidden City = Jing Ying de Shi Jie: Gu Gong Cang Zhongguo Gu Dai Yu Qi

This selection of 185 works provides a wonderful overview of the history of the art of jade carving in China. It demonstrates not only the variety and evolution of technical dexterity that is such a characteristic of jade carving in China, but also the stone's ritualistic, symbolic and decorative functions. As a material of unparalleled beauty and strength, jade acquired powerful symbolic values in the Chinese psyche, hence its significant role as the preferred material for so many symbolic and ritual objects.

The catalogue illustrates jades from the Neolithic period, Shang dynasty, Western Zhou dynasty, Eastern Zhou dynasty, Han dynasty, Wei-jin to the Southern and Northern dynasties period, the Tang dynasty, Song dynasty, Liao, Jin and Yuan dynasties, Ming dynasty and the Qing dynasty.