Richard Anderson is a self-taught Jade carver, his work resides in both public and private collections worldwide. Richard’s Maori bloodlines, Tainui, Kahungunu, lend authenticity to his traditional work. These carvings are keenly sought after as ceremonial pieces. His Pounamu (jade) carvings have been recognized by Maori Tohunga’s (Priests) as being guided by the carvers of old. According to long established custom, Richard has been blessed in the traditional manner. Richard and his work carry these blessings. His machinery and tool designs are held in highest regard by Jade carvers and engineers alike. Using his large and modern workshop, his contemporary pieces have reached levels his ancestors dreamed of.
Sky, water, rock, tree,
time slows, stops,
for a moment,
silence enhanced
by wind and water,
shaping rock,
moss, river, mountain jade . . .
~ Nephrite Jade ~
The Stone of Heaven
Its gentle, smooth, glossy appearance suggests charity of heart;
Its fine close texture and hardness suggests wisdom;
It is firm and yet does not wound, suggesting duty to one’s neighbor;
It hangs down as though sinking, suggesting ceremony;
Struck, it gives a clear note, long drawn out,
Dying gradually away and suggesting music;
Its flaws do not hide its excellences,
Nor does its excellences hide its flaws, suggesting loyalty;
It gains our confidence, suggesting truth;
Its spirituality is like the bright rainbow,
Suggesting the earth below;
As articles of regalia it suggests the exemplification
Of that than which there is nothing in the world of equal value,
And thereby is Tao itself.
-Confucius
The symbol for Jade in Chinese 3 horizontal lines joined with a vertical line, the lines represented Heaven, Earth and the underworld, the vertical line represented the Emperor. There were 3 Emperors one for each plane of existence.
In the Chinese culture for more than 8,000 years Jade has symbolized Nobility, perfection, constancy and immortality. Jade has been an integral part of the lives of Chinese. It is viewed as the most valuable of all precious stones. For the Chinese, Jade held an occult value apart from its commercial value. Since nearly the beginning of the Chinese civilization, it was considered the ” Stone of Heaven”.
Jade is found in mountains and riverbeds. The Chinese considered Jade to be “the essence of Heaven and Earth.” Jade is an essence produced through the natural forces of rivers and mountains over eons. However, if it is not skillfully cut and polished, the potential richness and luster that people prize about jade cannot be expressed. When polished and carved, jade is attributed with certain cultural characteristics. Jade symbolized the noble bearing of a gentleman. Jade has served as talismans and amulets for protection badges of social rank, store of value and medium of exchange, conveyors of Imperial Court and military orders. They were esteemed gifts and object d’art. Jade in its purest form, was a link between the physical world and the spiritual world.
More than any other material, jade permeated the lives of the influential, the minds of the scholarly, and it reflected the highest qualities of worldly achievement and attainment. It was the ultimate symbol of perfection. Jade had the distinction of being tougher than steel. Though diamonds and rubies were harder than jade, they were brittle and were not tough. Ancient texts such as the Li Ji (Book of Rites) expounded the importance of jade to a gentleman whose wearing of jade pendants had a moral and aesthetic reason. Confucius said of jade, “In ancient times, men found the likenesses of all excellent qualities in jade. Soft, smooth, and glossy, it appeared to them like benevolence. Fine, compact and strong, like intelligence; angular, but not shard and cutting, like righteousness. Lao Tze, the founder of Taoism, also attributed the highest qualities to jade.
Pao Putzu, a Taoist philosopher once said that jade originally flowed from the mountains as a liquid. Ten thousand years after, it crystallized into a substance as clear as crystal. If the right herb is added to jade, it again reverts back to a liquid. Drinking this liquid confers the gift of long life. Whatever the reason, High grade Jade gems and pieces of jade are often sold at prices that exceed diamonds.
The Mayans, Maoris and European culture valued Jade for tools, weapons and amulets, being the toughest of stones. The Mayan reserved Jade for the use of Royalty.
The Maoris worked Jade for 900 years, in this time their Jade working skills progressed remarkably. The flowering of their renowned wood carving skills is directly related to the discovery and use of Jade as a superior tool material.
The Maoris called Jade “Pounamu” or the peace stone, star stone or God stone.
Pounamu was the most highly valued material available to the Maori people. A mere or Jade hand weapon carried the Mana or prestige of the tribe and therefore could not be purchased at any price.
This ancient saying may portray Jades importance “Warm the God stone, hold it close, for everything written in the star is reflected in its beauty, live by its colours and journey in peace”.
Mineralogy of Nephrite Jade
Ca2 (Mg Fe)5 (OH2) (Si4O11)2
The Nephrite Jade owes compactness and toughness to microscopic needle like Tremolite/Actonlite crystals that have tangled with each other or felted together. Formed in the up thrust of the mountain ranges in faults between Serpentine and Schist belts. Tremolite and Actonite are joined as one to create jade, The Stone of Heaven.
