Qualities of Jade August 1, 2012

Around 2,500 years ago, Confucious (Kong Qiu or Kongzi, 551-479 B.C.) provided a list of likenesses between particular sensual qualities of carved jades such as luster, surface angularity, and veining patterns and qualities of perfected human character such as benevolence, loyalty, and virtue. For this exhibition, Chinese carved jades haves been chosen from the Crow Collection and matched with each of the equivalencies in Confucius's text. Viewers are invited to test the relationship of sense qualities and character traits for themselves, and to seek understanding of these likenesses from within their own experience.