Feb., 1912. Jade. 319 



from Mongol erdeni kash, which means "precious jade." We obtain 

 a good idea of these wine- jars from a figure in the Sung Catalogue of 

 Jades (Ch. 100, p. 3) which, according to the description in the text, 

 was then known as the largest worked piece of jade. This vessel stood 

 four feet four inches (Chinese) in height; it measured seven feet two 

 inches in circumference, with a diameter of three feet six inches over the 

 opening. It could hold eighty pints of wine, and is stated to have been 

 a relic of the Tsin or T'ang period. A three-clawed dragon emerging 

 from the sea and soaring into the clouds is carved on the surface of the 

 jar which is of bright-white jade with moss-green marks and emerald- 

 green speckles. 



A vase (13 cm high and 5 cm wide), carved from gray jade sprinkled 

 with russet spots, is shown in two views on Plate XLIV. It is carved 

 with great ingenuity and full mastery of form, and it seems justifiable 

 to date it, as Chinese judges propose, in the Sung period (960-1 1 27 a. d.). 

 The lower portion is occupied by the figure of a monster (face in b, pro- 

 file in a) running around the four sides, its feet forming at the same time 

 the feet of the vase. Being carved in high-relief, the impression is 

 given that the monster carries or supports the vessel. A lizard-like 

 hydra is climbing the edge and leaning on it with its front-feet. A 

 band of triple scroll-work is laid around the body of the vase, and a 

 band of square meanders borders the rim. 



In the jade cup illustrated on Plate XLV, Fig. 1 (8 cm high), there 

 arc two such hydras ascending the wall of the cup leaning their chins 

 on the brim. In the illustration, one is viewed from the back, and the 

 head of the companion on the opposite side is visible. The two monsters 

 are undercut and stand out as almost independent figures. In the same 

 technique, the plum-tree branches and blossoms are treated, serving 

 at the same time as handle. All details are worked out with minutest 

 care. The head of a hydra is emerging, as if out of a mist, in the front. 

 Two bats with hydra heads are in relief on .the other side. Cloud pat- 

 terns are spread along the lower edge and on the bottom. The artistic 

 effect of this piece originating in the Ming period (1368- 1644) is greatly 

 heightened by the contrasts of color, the gray jade being interrupted 

 in places by deep-brown and yellow tinges, the branches of the plum- 

 tree being brown, the heads of the hydras purple-red, etc.; such features, 

 however, cannot be adequately described, they must be seen and studied 

 in the object itself. 



Of the same period is the heavy jade bowl in Fig. 2 of the same Plate 

 XLV, which is shown from its lower side. The carving is done in three 

 layers. Below the rim an eight-petalled flower of conventional design 

 is brought out, and over this one is raised in high relief a bunch of 



