The National Geographic Magazine 



taining the cutter's grooves, and the 

 New York Museum of Natural History 

 contains a similar piece from a primitive 

 Alaskan workshop. Of the finer and more 

 translucent specimens of jade the New 

 Zealanders carved their ' ' tiki. ' ' These 

 objects were worn about the neck, and 

 are said b}^ some to have been title deeds 

 of land, as well as venerated charms and 

 sj'tnbols of ancestor worship. There is 

 a grotesque figure of New Zealand jade 

 in the British Museum which was evi- 

 dently carved with much care. The 

 eyes are inlaid in mother-of-pearl. 



Jade implements, chiefly celts, have 

 been found along the entire coast of 

 British Columbia and Alaska from the 

 Straits of Fuca to the Arctic Sea, and 

 arrow-heads have been brought from 

 the Arctic coast of both Alaska and 

 Siberia. Such stone implements were 

 highly valued by the Indians, who in 

 some cases still preserve them, although 

 they no longer use them. The majority 

 of jade celts which owe their origin to 

 this region have been discovered in In- 

 dian graves, in shell heaps, and on the 

 sites of former villages. Whether the 

 jade thus employed was brought from 

 Asia or found on the spot was for a long 

 time an open question. The discovery 

 of the mineral in situ in the vicinity of 

 the Fraser River and in rolled pieces on 

 the Lewes branch of the Yukon has 

 placed its origin beyond dispute. 



Jade was known to the Aztecs as the 

 "divine stone," and was valued next 

 to the emerald, with which it was often 

 confused by the early Spaniards. As a 

 religious s5 r mbol, it was placed on the 

 altars. It was carved by the Aztecs in 

 the form of parrots' heads, fish, etc., 

 and worn as a charm against kidnej' 

 troubles and epilepsy. This supersti- 

 tious esteem for the medicinal qualities 

 of the stone was carried to Europe by 

 the Spaniards, and at one time there 

 existed jade merchants in Paris who 

 sold medals of jade as a remedy for 

 these diseases. The Aztecs also carved 



masks from jade, which were used in 

 the temples to cover the face of the 

 most illustrious of the gods when the 

 King fell ill. They did not remove 

 them until the recovery or death of the 

 patient. At other times these masks 

 served as a decoration of the temple 

 walls. 



In Central and South America similar 

 uses for jade and jade-like stones ob- 

 tained, and, as in ever3 T other quarter 

 of the globe where the stone-was known 

 and used, it was held in an esteem 

 amounting, in many cases, to actual 

 reverence. 



Collections of jade are found in nearlv 

 all the great museums of Europe, per- 

 haps the most notable being that of the 

 South Kensington Museum, which pos- 

 sesses superb examples of the jewel- 

 inlaid Indian jade. The specimens in 

 the British Museum are valuable chiefh" 

 from a mineralogical and archaeological 

 point of view. A number of choice 

 pieces are owned by the Musee Ethno- 

 graphique in the Louvre and the Musee 

 Guimet, in Paris. The Musee Chinois 

 at Fontainebleau owes its fine collection 

 of jade to the gifts of French officers to 

 the Empress Eugenie after their return 

 from the campaign in China in i860. 

 ""Jade objects which have been presented 

 to the imperial family of Russia are ex- 

 hibited in the Peter the Great Gallery 

 at St Petersburg. Among the treasures 

 of the Sultan in the old Seraglio at Con- 

 stantinople are many sword hilts and 

 other small objects of jade. 



Although these museums contain 

 many individually fine specimens of 

 jade, no one of them possesses a truly 

 complete collection. American col- 

 lectors of Orientals have long shown 

 their appreciation of the beaut}- of jade 

 objects, and the collections of Messrs 

 Brayton Ives, Henry Walters, Thomas 

 Waggaman, and Frederick Ames con- 

 tain many unique and perfect examples 

 of the jade carver's art. It was left for 

 an American, Mr Heber Bishop, of New 



