Inspiration in Jade
As early as the Spring and Autumn period (770-481 BCE), early Chinese glass served as a substitute for gemstones, including jade. In 1743, jadette green appeared as a color in the Qing Imperial glass works—as jadeite supplies were low due to poor relations with Burma, the stone was considered valuable enough to be reproduced in glass. Tiffany had acquired a Chinese jade te qing (“special stone,”) a chime that he hung in a curio cabinet of his Bella apartment in New York in the early 1880’s, run historically to announce a guest’s arrival and rank, or denote the completion of a musical piece. He soon translated this fascination with Eastern culture into a spectrum of vibrant greens, emulating not just jade but chrysoprase, malachite, and celadon.
Inspiration in Jade
As early as the Spring and Autumn period (770-481 BCE), early Chinese glass served as a substitute for gemstones, including jade. In 1743, jadette green appeared as a color in the Qing Imperial glass works—as jadeite supplies were low due to poor relations with Burma, the stone was considered valuable enough to be reproduced in glass. Tiffany had acquired a Chinese jade te qing (“special stone,”) a chime that he hung in a curio cabinet of his Bella apartment in New York in the early 1880’s, run historically to announce a guest’s arrival and rank, or denote the completion of a musical piece. He soon translated this fascination with Eastern culture into a spectrum of vibrant greens, emulating not just jade but chrysoprase, malachite, and celadon.