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18th-century jade sculpture depicts the jade quarrying scene
Updated: Sep 26, 2022
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The Jasper Sculpture, dating back to the Qianlong reign (1736-1795) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), is 51 centimeters high with a 51.5-centimeter-wide base.
In high relief it depicts mountains, trees and two men in pointed hats and high boots. One man carries a jade boulder on his shoulder and the other in his hands. On the reverse, a poem composed by Emperor Qianlong is carved to record jade quarrying in Hotan.
Carved out of jade quarried from Xinjiang, the sculpture was in the court collection of the Qing Dynasty and is now in the permanent collection of the Palace Museum.
