Beautiful 16" diameter Polar Jade disk (Nephrite Jade), 2.75" diameter center hole, Northern British Columbia, East of Juneau Alaska. I saw this disk at a couple of shows over the past year+ and continued to see it in my mind's eye until just before Christmas, when I decided that I really wanted to see it in my home. The ones that "got away" are the ones you didn't buy, but that reappear in your mind's eye through the years, visiting from time-to-time.... Worse than ghosts! Got this from Mike and Joan (RevelationsInStone.com), who specialize in beautiful Jade and have literally tons of it! .

Speak your prayers through the center and your words are purified and sped onward to heaven. (Or something like that...)

Earliest swastika after the flooding of the Black sea probably in the 7th mill.bc.

Nephrite culture of Balkans.

Bulgaria. Kurdjali (Kardzhali).

www.amazon.com/Goddess-Lajja-Gauri-origins-Footsteps/dp/1...

Jade burial pigs to be held in the hands of the deceased. Found in Shanmenkou, Yanta, Xian, Shaanxi, China. Chinese, Western Han, 206 BC - 9 AD. From the Xian Museum. Special exhibit: Age of Empires: Chinese Art of the Qin and Han Dynasties (221 B.C.–A.D. 220). Metropolitan Museum, New York, New York, USA. Copyright 2017, James A. Glazier

Jadeite jade with weathering rind from the Jurassic of Burma. (7.4 cm across at its widest)

“Jade” refers to more than one specific type of metamorphic rock. The four categories of “jade” are:

1) jadeitite (jadeite jade)

2) nephrite/nephritite (nephrite jade)

3) chromian jade (maw sit sit)

4) serpentine jade

Jadeitite (= jadeite jade) is a rare metamorphic rock composed of jadeite pyroxene (Na(Al,Fe)(Si2O6)). Published research on Burmese jade generally indicates that the jadeitite rock masses formed by metasomatism of albitites (= plagioclase feldspar metamorphites) at the periphery of serpentinized mantle peridotite bodies. The mantle peridotite was part of a subducting slab of Mesozoic-aged oceanic lithosphere that was emplaced upward and against southeast Asian continental lithosphere by obduction.

Shown above is a deep green Burmese jade, consisting of jadeite pyroxene crystals (Na(Al,Fe)(Si2O6) - sodium aluminum iron silicate) set in a a matrix of ?sodic feldspar?. Burmese jadeite jades formed by metasomatism of albitites at the periphery of a serpentinized mantle peridotite body.

Geologic unit: Hpakan-Tawmaw Jade Tract, Hpakan Ultramafic Body, Naga-Adaman Ophiolite

Age: Syngenetic zircons indicate that Burmese jadeitite formed at 147 Ma (late Tithonian Stage, near-latest Jurassic. The serpentinite host rocks formed (metamorphic age) at 163 Ma (Middle Jurassic). Older literature interprets Burmese jadeitite as Tertiary in age, hosted by Late Creatceous to Eocene serpentinized peridotites.

Locality: alluvial clast (placer jade) from unrecorded locality (possibly in the vicinity of Phakant), upper reaches of the Uyu River (Uru River), western Kachin State, Indo-Burma Range, northern Burma

--------------

References on Burmese jade:

Bender, F. 1983. Geology of Burma. Berlin. Gebruder Borntraeger. 260 pp.

Hughes, R.W., O. Galibert, G. Bosshart, F. Ward, Oo T., M. Smith, Sun Tay Thye & G.E. Harlow. 2000. Burmese jade: the inscrutable gem. Gems & Gemology 36(1): 2-26.

Qiu Zhili, Wu Fuyuan, Yang Shufeng, Zhu Min, Sun Jinfeng & Yang Ping. 2008. Age and genesis of the Myanmar jadeite: constraints from U-Pb ages and Hf isotopes of zircon inclusions. Chinese Science Bulletin 54: 658-668.

Rossman, G.R. 1974. Lavender jade, the optical spectrum of Fe3+ and Fe2+ --> Fe3+ intervalence charge transfer in jadeite from Burma. American Mineralogist 59: 868-870.

Shi Guanghai, Cui Wenyuan, Cao Shumin, Jiang Neng, Jian Ping, Liu Dunyi, Miao Laicheng & Chu Bingbing. 2008. Ion microprobe zircon U-Pb age and geochemistry of the Myanmar jadeitite. Journal of the Geological Society of London 165: 221-234.

Shi Guanghai, Cui Wenyuan, Wang Changqiu & Zhang Wenhuai. 2000. The fluid inclusions in jadeitite from Pharkant area, Myanmar. Chinese Science Bulletin 45: 1896-1901.

Shi Guang-Hai, Jiang Neng, Liu Yan, Wang Xia, Zhang Zhi-Yu & Xu Yong-Jing. 2009. Zircon Hf isotope signature of the depleted mantle in the Myanmar jadeitite: implications for Mesozoic intra-oceanic subduction between the Eastern Indian Plate and the Burmese Platelet. Lithos 112: 342-350.

Shi Guanghai, Jiang Neng, Wang Yuwang, Zhao Xin, Wang Xia, Li Guowu, E. Ng & Cui Wenyuan. 2010. Ba minerals in clinopyroxene rocks from the Myanmar jadeitite area: implications for Ba recycling in subduction zones. European Journal of Mineralogy 22: 199-214.

Shi Guanghai, Wang Xia, Chu Bingbing & Cui Wenyuan. 2009. Jadeite jade from Myanmar: its texture and gemmological implications. The Journal of Gemmology 31: 185-195.

Nephrite jade is rich in iron. The higher the iron content, the greener the jade. This half inch wide area looks like an angry sea on another world.

This is part of the Chinese collection at the Worcester Art Museum. Made of light green nephrite it depicts 5 dragons. It is not an ancient piece but was made in the 19th or early 20th Century.

Black nephrite jade from the Precambrian of Wyoming, USA. (public display, University of Wyoming Geological Museum, Laramie, Wyoming, USA)

Nephrite jade (nephritite) is a crystalline-textured to felted-textured metamorphic rock principally composed of one or more amphibole minerals (tremolite to actinolite, Ca2Mg5Si8O22(OH)2 to Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2).

Nephrite jade was discovered in Wyoming in the 1930s, resulting in a "jade rush" that lasted for several decades. Most recovered material is alluvial jade, produced by paleoerosion of jade outcrops. Eroded clasts of jade were transported downstream and subsequently buried with other poorly-sorted sediments. Some Wyoming jade has been collected from in-situ outcrops.

Stereotypical jade is green-colored. The sample seen here is black nephrite jade, which is the most commonly encountered color in the central Wyoming jade field.

---------------

From museum signage:

"Jade is an ornamental stone found in many parts of the world. Jade consists of two minerals, nephrite and jadeite. Nephrite is a vareity of the amphibole mineral actinolite: Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2. Jadeite on the other hand is a type of pyroxene and forms monoclinic crystals. Jadeite's chemical formula is Na(Al,Fe+3)Si2O6."

"The word "jade" is derived from the Spanish term piedra de ijada (first recorded in 1565), of "flank stone", because it had a reputed efficacy in curing ailments of the loins and kidneys. Nephrite gets its name from Latin "lapis nephriticus", meaning "kidney stone" because it was often worn to remedy diseases of the kidneys."

"Jade is about as hard as quartz, quite tough, beautifully colored, and can easily be shaped. Both nephrite and jadeite were used during the Stone and Bronze Age and in the ancient dynasties of China."

"Nephrite is the most common form of the two varieties, being found in a creamy white form as well as various green hues. The green color is the result of iron within the crystal lattice. When iron is not present, the mineral is colorless to cloudy white. Jadeite, on the other hand, shows more color variations, including blue, lavender, pink, and green. Jadeite is found in fewer than 12 documented productive places around the world. The translucent emerald-green jadeite is the most valued variety, both now and historically. Places like Guatemala and Burma are principal locations for jadeite. Canada is the main producer of lapidary nephrite. Jade is the official gemstone of British Columbia, where it is found in the Lillooet, Liard, and Omenica Mining Divisions. Nephrite jade was used mostly in pre-1800 China as well as New Zealand, the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts of North America, Neolithic Europe, and Southeast Asia. Jadeite was used by Neolithic Japanese and European cultures."

"Nephrite jade is found in several places in the United States, including the states of Alaska, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wyoming. Jadeite on the other hand is found in California, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Washington."

"Wyoming is known as the Jade State. Nephrite jade was adopted as Wyoming's official gemstone on January 25, 1967. Governor Stanley K. Hathaway signed legislation introduced by the 39th legislature, which established nephrite jade as the state gemstone of Wyoming."

"Nephrite is found in a vast region that runs roughly from Lander southwest to Farson, south to teh Red Desert in Sweetwater County, east to Seminoe Dam, north to Alcova, and westward back to Lander. Colors range from black, dark green, emerald green, apple green, gray, pink, and white. Lighter colors of jade, especially apple green, are most in demand for gemstones. Because jade hunters have scoured all over south-central Wyoming for nearly six decades, apple green jade is very rare to find."

"Sources cite that 1936 is the year of jade discovery near Lander. Starting in 1936 and ending in 1945, jade hunting was done principally by Wyoming residents. During the summer of 1945, some 7,000 to 8,000 pounds of jade were collected. Wyoming jade hunter Allan Branham, who is credited as being the person who first discovered American nephrite jade, once stated that "Jade lures and lures as no other stone. It is as bad as the "gold fever", and once entangled with jade, one seldom recovers." Large boulders of nephrite have been found in Wyoming. The largest specimen ever found was a 14,000 pound boulder of low-quality black jade reportedly found in the prospect at the southern end of the Wind River Mountains. Some of the best specimens come from the area around Jeffrey City."

--------------

Age: Precambrian (probably Proterozoic)

Locality: unrecorded/undisclosed locality in central Wyoming, USA

A selection of works by Fabergé from Matilda Geddings Gray's sumptuous collection is on long-term loan at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and comprises this exhibition. Objects originally commissioned by and created for the Romanov family, such as the Lilies-of-the-Valley Basket—the most important Fabergé work in a U. S. collection—and three magnificent Imperial Easter Eggs, are on view.

Yellow and green gold, silver, nephrite, pearl, rose-cut diamond

Workmaster: August Wilhelm Holmström (Finnish, 1828–1903)

Inscribed (in Russian, at bottom): To Her Imperial Majesty, Czarina Alexandra Feodorovna, from the ironworks management and dealers in the Siberian iron section of the Nijegorodski Fair in the year 1896

Russian (Saint Petersburg), 1896

The Oscar Wilde Memorial (1997)

By Danny Osborne

Commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group

The lens that I used is very sharp so you can now read the quotes on the black pillars if you view the higher resolution versions of the photographs.

I assume that that restoration work is underway as the two small bronze figures are missing from the two pillars which appear to be in better condition than they were the last time I paid a visit to the park.

Oscar Wilde’s (1854-1900) rich and dramatic portrayals of the human condition have made him one of Ireland’s most popular and loved writer’s. His short stories, plays and poems continue to inspire and entertain people the world over. This memorial fittingly captures Wilde’s dramatic and audacious personality. Commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group, and created by Irish sculptor Danny Osborne, the memo- rial took almost two and a half years from conception to completion. Geologists, quarry owners, glass workers and foundries from all over the world were consulted. Osborne used complementary colour stones and also sought out stones with varying textures to give a much more lifelike representation of Wilde than in a conventional statue.

These stones and materials include bronze, glass, granite, jade, porcelain, quartz and thulite. As one can see Wilde’s green jacket of nephrite jade from Canada, is complimented by red cuffs made of thulite from Norway. The sculpture is accompanied by two stone pillars which are covered in quotations of Wilde’s writing. These quotes set out these thoughts, opinions and witticisms on art and life. The quotes were selected by a mixture of poets, public figures and artists who use Wilde’s own words to pay tribute to him. The etchings of the chosen quotes copy the personal handwriting of figures including Seamus Heaney, John B. Keane and President Michael D. Higgins. Placed on top of the pillars are two small bronze sculptures, one of a pregnant woman who represents Wilde’s wife Constance and the theme of life, staring accusingly across the path at her husband, while the other is a male torso representing Dionysus and the theme of art. With Wilde, reclining on his rocky perch, facing towards his childhood home at No. 1 Merrion Square.

Danny Osborne has worked as a very successful full time artist since 1971. He has travelled extensively, participated in expeditions to the Arctic, Andes and the Himalayas, and has documented his experiences through painting and sculpture. Osborne’s sculptures tend to be created using a variety of stones and porcelain like The Oscar Wilde Memorial.

c. 1300-1200 BC. Freer Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Complete indexed photo collection at WorldHistoryPics.com.

Black nephrite jade from the Precambrian of Wyoming, USA. (public display, University of Wyoming Geological Museum, Laramie, Wyoming, USA)

Nephrite jade (nephritite) is a crystalline-textured to felted-textured metamorphic rock principally composed of one or more amphibole minerals (tremolite to actinolite, Ca2Mg5Si8O22(OH)2 to Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2).

Nephrite jade was discovered in Wyoming in the 1930s, resulting in a "jade rush" that lasted for several decades. Most recovered material is alluvial jade, produced by paleoerosion of jade outcrops. Eroded clasts of jade were transported downstream and subsequently buried with other poorly-sorted sediments. Some Wyoming jade has been collected from in-situ outcrops.

Stereotypical jade is green-colored. The sample seen here is black nephrite jade, which is the most commonly encountered color in the central Wyoming jade field. The lustrous polish is the result of natural abrasion polishing by winds. Any rock that has natural wind polish is called a ventifact.

---------------

From museum signage:

"Jade is an ornamental stone found in many parts of the world. Jade consists of two minerals, nephrite and jadeite. Nephrite is a vareity of the amphibole mineral actinolite: Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2. Jadeite on the other hand is a type of pyroxene and forms monoclinic crystals. Jadeite's chemical formula is Na(Al,Fe+3)Si2O6."

"The word "jade" is derived from the Spanish term piedra de ijada (first recorded in 1565), of "flank stone", because it had a reputed efficacy in curing ailments of the loins and kidneys. Nephrite gets its name from Latin "lapis nephriticus", meaning "kidney stone" because it was often worn to remedy diseases of the kidneys."

"Jade is about as hard as quartz, quite tough, beautifully colored, and can easily be shaped. Both nephrite and jadeite were used during the Stone and Bronze Age and in the ancient dynasties of China."

"Nephrite is the most common form of the two varieties, being found in a creamy white form as well as various green hues. The green color is the result of iron within the crystal lattice. When iron is not present, the mineral is colorless to cloudy white. Jadeite, on the other hand, shows more color variations, including blue, lavender, pink, and green. Jadeite is found in fewer than 12 documented productive places around the world. The translucent emerald-green jadeite is the most valued variety, both now and historically. Places like Guatemala and Burma are principal locations for jadeite. Canada is the main producer of lapidary nephrite. Jade is the official gemstone of British Columbia, where it is found in the Lillooet, Liard, and Omenica Mining Divisions. Nephrite jade was used mostly in pre-1800 China as well as New Zealand, the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts of North America, Neolithic Europe, and Southeast Asia. Jadeite was used by Neolithic Japanese and European cultures."

"Nephrite jade is found in several places in the United States, including the states of Alaska, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wyoming. Jadeite on the other hand is found in California, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Washington."

"Wyoming is known as the Jade State. Nephrite jade was adopted as Wyoming's official gemstone on January 25, 1967. Governor Stanley K. Hathaway signed legislation introduced by the 39th legislature, which established nephrite jade as the state gemstone of Wyoming."

"Nephrite is found in a vast region that runs roughly from Lander southwest to Farson, south to teh Red Desert in Sweetwater County, east to Seminoe Dam, north to Alcova, and westward back to Lander. Colors range from black, dark green, emerald green, apple green, gray, pink, and white. Lighter colors of jade, especially apple green, are most in demand for gemstones. Because jade hunters have scoured all over south-central Wyoming for nearly six decades, apple green jade is very rare to find."

"Sources cite that 1936 is the year of jade discovery near Lander. Starting in 1936 and ending in 1945, jade hunting was done principally by Wyoming residents. During the summer of 1945, some 7,000 to 8,000 pounds of jade were collected. Wyoming jade hunter Allan Branham, who is credited as being the person who first discovered American nephrite jade, once stated that "Jade lures and lures as no other stone. It is as bad as the "gold fever", and once entangled with jade, one seldom recovers." Large boulders of nephrite have been found in Wyoming. The largest specimen ever found was a 14,000 pound boulder of low-quality black jade reportedly found in the prospect at the southern end of the Wind River Mountains. Some of the best specimens come from the area around Jeffrey City."

--------------

Age: Precambrian (probably Proterozoic)

Locality: unrecorded locality in the Granite Mountains, central Wyoming, USA

Nephrite jade from the Precambrian of Wyoming, USA. (public display, University of Wyoming Geological Museum, Laramie, Wyoming, USA)

Nephrite jade (nephritite) is a crystalline-textured to felted-textured metamorphic rock principally composed of one or more amphibole minerals (tremolite to actinolite, Ca2Mg5Si8O22(OH)2 to Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2).

Nephrite jade was discovered in Wyoming in the 1930s, resulting in a "jade rush" that lasted for several decades. Most recovered material is alluvial jade, produced by paleoerosion of jade outcrops. Eroded clasts of jade were transported downstream and subsequently buried with other poorly-sorted sediments. Some Wyoming jade has been collected from in-situ outcrops.

The dark green nephrite jade sample seen here has a somewhat lustrous polish and surface facets that formed from natural abrasion by winds. Any rock that has natural wind polish is called a ventifact.

---------------

From museum signage:

"Jade is an ornamental stone found in many parts of the world. Jade consists of two minerals, nephrite and jadeite. Nephrite is a vareity of the amphibole mineral actinolite: Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2. Jadeite on the other hand is a type of pyroxene and forms monoclinic crystals. Jadeite's chemical formula is Na(Al,Fe+3)Si2O6."

"The word "jade" is derived from the Spanish term piedra de ijada (first recorded in 1565), of "flank stone", because it had a reputed efficacy in curing ailments of the loins and kidneys. Nephrite gets its name from Latin "lapis nephriticus", meaning "kidney stone" because it was often worn to remedy diseases of the kidneys."

"Jade is about as hard as quartz, quite tough, beautifully colored, and can easily be shaped. Both nephrite and jadeite were used during the Stone and Bronze Age and in the ancient dynasties of China."

"Nephrite is the most common form of the two varieties, being found in a creamy white form as well as various green hues. The green color is the result of iron within the crystal lattice. When iron is not present, the mineral is colorless to cloudy white. Jadeite, on the other hand, shows more color variations, including blue, lavender, pink, and green. Jadeite is found in fewer than 12 documented productive places around the world. The translucent emerald-green jadeite is the most valued variety, both now and historically. Places like Guatemala and Burma are principal locations for jadeite. Canada is the main producer of lapidary nephrite. Jade is the official gemstone of British Columbia, where it is found in the Lillooet, Liard, and Omenica Mining Divisions. Nephrite jade was used mostly in pre-1800 China as well as New Zealand, the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts of North America, Neolithic Europe, and Southeast Asia. Jadeite was used by Neolithic Japanese and European cultures."

"Nephrite jade is found in several places in the United States, including the states of Alaska, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wyoming. Jadeite on the other hand is found in California, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Washington."

"Wyoming is known as the Jade State. Nephrite jade was adopted as Wyoming's official gemstone on January 25, 1967. Governor Stanley K. Hathaway signed legislation introduced by the 39th legislature, which established nephrite jade as the state gemstone of Wyoming."

"Nephrite is found in a vast region that runs roughly from Lander southwest to Farson, south to teh Red Desert in Sweetwater County, east to Seminoe Dam, north to Alcova, and westward back to Lander. Colors range from black, dark green, emerald green, apple green, gray, pink, and white. Lighter colors of jade, especially apple green, are most in demand for gemstones. Because jade hunters have scoured all over south-central Wyoming for nearly six decades, apple green jade is very rare to find."

"Sources cite that 1936 is the year of jade discovery near Lander. Starting in 1936 and ending in 1945, jade hunting was done principally by Wyoming residents. During the summer of 1945, some 7,000 to 8,000 pounds of jade were collected. Wyoming jade hunter Allan Branham, who is credited as being the person who first discovered American nephrite jade, once stated that "Jade lures and lures as no other stone. It is as bad as the "gold fever", and once entangled with jade, one seldom recovers." Large boulders of nephrite have been found in Wyoming. The largest specimen ever found was a 14,000 pound boulder of low-quality black jade reportedly found in the prospect at the southern end of the Wind River Mountains. Some of the best specimens come from the area around Jeffrey City."

--------------

Age: Precambrian (probably Proterozoic)

Locality: unrecorded locality in the Granite Mountains, central Wyoming, USA

Nephrite is one of the two minerals commonly called jade. It's found in a variety of colors from white to deep green.

Nephrite jade from the Precambrian of Wyoming, USA. (public display, University of Wyoming Geological Museum, Laramie, Wyoming, USA)

Nephrite jade (nephritite) is a crystalline-textured to felted-textured metamorphic rock principally composed of one or more amphibole minerals (tremolite to actinolite, Ca2Mg5Si8O22(OH)2 to Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2).

Nephrite jade was discovered in Wyoming in the 1930s, resulting in a "jade rush" that lasted for several decades. Most recovered material is alluvial jade, produced by paleoerosion of jade outcrops. Eroded clasts of jade were transported downstream and subsequently buried with other poorly-sorted sediments. Some Wyoming jade has been collected from in-situ outcrops.

The dark green nephrite jade sample seen here has a somewhat lustrous polish that formed from natural abrasion by winds. Any rock that has natural wind polish is called a ventifact.

---------------

From museum signage:

"Jade is an ornamental stone found in many parts of the world. Jade consists of two minerals, nephrite and jadeite. Nephrite is a vareity of the amphibole mineral actinolite: Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2. Jadeite on the other hand is a type of pyroxene and forms monoclinic crystals. Jadeite's chemical formula is Na(Al,Fe+3)Si2O6."

"The word "jade" is derived from the Spanish term piedra de ijada (first recorded in 1565), of "flank stone", because it had a reputed efficacy in curing ailments of the loins and kidneys. Nephrite gets its name from Latin "lapis nephriticus", meaning "kidney stone" because it was often worn to remedy diseases of the kidneys."

"Jade is about as hard as quartz, quite tough, beautifully colored, and can easily be shaped. Both nephrite and jadeite were used during the Stone and Bronze Age and in the ancient dynasties of China."

"Nephrite is the most common form of the two varieties, being found in a creamy white form as well as various green hues. The green color is the result of iron within the crystal lattice. When iron is not present, the mineral is colorless to cloudy white. Jadeite, on the other hand, shows more color variations, including blue, lavender, pink, and green. Jadeite is found in fewer than 12 documented productive places around the world. The translucent emerald-green jadeite is the most valued variety, both now and historically. Places like Guatemala and Burma are principal locations for jadeite. Canada is the main producer of lapidary nephrite. Jade is the official gemstone of British Columbia, where it is found in the Lillooet, Liard, and Omenica Mining Divisions. Nephrite jade was used mostly in pre-1800 China as well as New Zealand, the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts of North America, Neolithic Europe, and Southeast Asia. Jadeite was used by Neolithic Japanese and European cultures."

"Nephrite jade is found in several places in the United States, including the states of Alaska, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wyoming. Jadeite on the other hand is found in California, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Washington."

"Wyoming is known as the Jade State. Nephrite jade was adopted as Wyoming's official gemstone on January 25, 1967. Governor Stanley K. Hathaway signed legislation introduced by the 39th legislature, which established nephrite jade as the state gemstone of Wyoming."

"Nephrite is found in a vast region that runs roughly from Lander southwest to Farson, south to teh Red Desert in Sweetwater County, east to Seminoe Dam, north to Alcova, and westward back to Lander. Colors range from black, dark green, emerald green, apple green, gray, pink, and white. Lighter colors of jade, especially apple green, are most in demand for gemstones. Because jade hunters have scoured all over south-central Wyoming for nearly six decades, apple green jade is very rare to find."

"Sources cite that 1936 is the year of jade discovery near Lander. Starting in 1936 and ending in 1945, jade hunting was done principally by Wyoming residents. During the summer of 1945, some 7,000 to 8,000 pounds of jade were collected. Wyoming jade hunter Allan Branham, who is credited as being the person who first discovered American nephrite jade, once stated that "Jade lures and lures as no other stone. It is as bad as the "gold fever", and once entangled with jade, one seldom recovers." Large boulders of nephrite have been found in Wyoming. The largest specimen ever found was a 14,000 pound boulder of low-quality black jade reportedly found in the prospect at the southern end of the Wind River Mountains. Some of the best specimens come from the area around Jeffrey City."

--------------

Age: Precambrian (probably Proterozoic)

Locality: unrecorded locality in the Granite Mountains, central Wyoming, USA

Ceremonial Indian dagger with carved nephrite hilt set with pearls, emeralds, and rubies

18th century

More information can be found the museum's Jade site.

Jade Buddha

This seated Buddha in meditative pose is carved from a single block of jade, its green hues softly modulating between the remnants of marine life. The Buddha's heavy lidded eyes are open, enveloping the viewer in a gaze that stresses the communicative and contemplative relationship between teacher and disciple. The materials suggest its origin is China, where jade of this type (nephrite) was worked from the Late Neolithic Period (c.3000-1500 BCE).

The stone's aesthetic incorruptibility - in colour, texture and translucence

- encourage the analogous relationship to earthly and spiritual purity. The philosopher Confucius (551-479 BCE) pronounced that jade corresponded to the virtues of benevolence, wisdom, righteousness, propriety, loyalty and trustworthiness.

( notes from the catalogue )

Khotan / Hotan / Hetian is known for its white jade or nephrite jade. The jade is famously carried towards Khotan via the White Jade (Yurungkash) and Black Jade (Karakash) rivers, the former passing through Khotan, the latter running parallel and meeting in Koxlax, from which point the river is the Khotan river. Locals and visitors often search for jade on the river bank but the riverside rock shops do most of their business in selling colourful, pretty but inferior rocks for chinese tourists to take home.

Deep green nephrite jade ventifact (chipped & possibly an American Indian artifact) from the Precambrian of Wyoming, USA. (8.0 cm across at its widest)

Nephrite jade (nephritite) is a crystalline-textured to felted-textured metamorphic rock principally composed of one or more amphibole minerals (tremolite to actinolite, Ca2Mg5Si8O22(OH)2 to Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2).

This gorgeous piece of deep green nephrite jade has a lustrous polish, the result of natural abrasion polishing by winds. Any rock that has natural wind polish is called a ventifact.

Nephrite jade was discovered in Wyoming in the 1930s, resulting in a "jade rush" that lasted for several decades. Most recovered material is alluvial jade, produced by paleoerosion of jade outcrops. Eroded clasts of jade were transported downstream and subsequently buried with other poorly-sorted sediments. Some Wyoming jade has been collected from in-situ outcrops.

This specimen of nephrite jade is a paleoclast, ultimately derived from Precambrian outcrops in the southern end of the Wind River Range (most Wyoming nephrite jade has a geologic provenance in the Granite Mountains.). The Wind River Range mountains were uplifted in the Late Eocene and eroded, producing much fanglomerate debris, which was buried to form the Ice Point Conglomerate (Upper Eocene). The Ice Point Conglomerate itself was buried by post-Eocene sediments and later re-exposed during the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene by downfaulting of the Split Rock Syncline. Nephrite jade clasts from the Ice Point Conglomerate were eroded and surface-exposed to abrading-polishing winds during the Pleistocene and Holocene.

Age: Precambrian (probably Proterozoic)

Locality: Bull Canyon (probably southern Bull Canyon - section 34, T29N, R95W), northwest of Ice Point, northern flanks of Crooks Mountain, south of the Sweetwater River & south of the western end of the Granite Mountains, southeastern Fremont County, central Wyoming, USA

Provenance: collected by Bert Rhoads in the 1930s, 1940s, or 1950s.

--------------

Mostly synthesized from:

Love, J.D. 1970. Cenozoic geology of the Granite Mountains area, central Wyoming. United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 495-C. 154 pp. 4 pls.

Natural Jade Necklace. Solid 14K Gold. Accented with Micro-Faceted White Topaz and Black Onyx. Natural Nephrite Jade Necklace. Fashion Jewelry ~ Starlite Jewelry Designs ~ Custom Orders by Request

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Vessel Identification

Name:Nephrite

IMO:9549657

Flag:Russia

MMSI:273339840

Callsign:UBAK4

Technical Data

Vessel type:General Cargo

Gross tonnage:3,505 tons

Summer DWT:5,026 tons

Length:90 m

Beam:14 m

Draught:5.7 m

Additional Information

Home port:St.petersburg

Class society:Bureau Veritas

Build year:2012

Builder (*):Qingdao Hyundai Shipbuilding

Qingdao, China

Owner:Volga Shipping

Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia

Manager:North Western Shipping

St.petersburg, Russia

nephrite jade can be polished to a mirror shine, if taken care of and by simply touching the jade, the shine can last a lifetime.

Photographed at the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.

Nephrite jade from the Precambrian of Wyoming, USA. (public display, University of Wyoming Geological Museum, Laramie, Wyoming, USA)

Nephrite jade (nephritite) is a crystalline-textured to felted-textured metamorphic rock principally composed of one or more amphibole minerals (tremolite to actinolite, Ca2Mg5Si8O22(OH)2 to Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2).

Nephrite jade was discovered in Wyoming in the 1930s, resulting in a "jade rush" that lasted for several decades. Most recovered material is alluvial jade, produced by paleoerosion of jade outcrops. Eroded clasts of jade were transported downstream and subsequently buried with other poorly-sorted sediments. Some Wyoming jade has been collected from in-situ outcrops.

---------------

From museum signage:

"Jade is an ornamental stone found in many parts of the world. Jade consists of two minerals, nephrite and jadeite. Nephrite is a vareity of the amphibole mineral actinolite: Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2. Jadeite on the other hand is a type of pyroxene and forms monoclinic crystals. Jadeite's chemical formula is Na(Al,Fe+3)Si2O6."

"The word "jade" is derived from the Spanish term piedra de ijada (first recorded in 1565), of "flank stone", because it had a reputed efficacy in curing ailments of the loins and kidneys. Nephrite gets its name from Latin "lapis nephriticus", meaning "kidney stone" because it was often worn to remedy diseases of the kidneys."

"Jade is about as hard as quartz, quite tough, beautifully colored, and can easily be shaped. Both nephrite and jadeite were used during the Stone and Bronze Age and in the ancient dynasties of China."

"Nephrite is the most common form of the two varieties, being found in a creamy white form as well as various green hues. The green color is the result of iron within the crystal lattice. When iron is not present, the mineral is colorless to cloudy white. Jadeite, on the other hand, shows more color variations, including blue, lavender, pink, and green. Jadeite is found in fewer than 12 documented productive places around the world. The translucent emerald-green jadeite is the most valued variety, both now and historically. Places like Guatemala and Burma are principal locations for jadeite. Canada is the main producer of lapidary nephrite. Jade is the official gemstone of British Columbia, where it is found in the Lillooet, Liard, and Omenica Mining Divisions. Nephrite jade was used mostly in pre-1800 China as well as New Zealand, the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts of North America, Neolithic Europe, and Southeast Asia. Jadeite was used by Neolithic Japanese and European cultures."

"Nephrite jade is found in several places in the United States, including the states of Alaska, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wyoming. Jadeite on the other hand is found in California, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Washington."

"Wyoming is known as the Jade State. Nephrite jade was adopted as Wyoming's official gemstone on January 25, 1967. Governor Stanley K. Hathaway signed legislation introduced by the 39th legislature, which established nephrite jade as the state gemstone of Wyoming."

"Nephrite is found in a vast region that runs roughly from Lander southwest to Farson, south to teh Red Desert in Sweetwater County, east to Seminoe Dam, north to Alcova, and westward back to Lander. Colors range from black, dark green, emerald green, apple green, gray, pink, and white. Lighter colors of jade, especially apple green, are most in demand for gemstones. Because jade hunters have scoured all over south-central Wyoming for nearly six decades, apple green jade is very rare to find."

"Sources cite that 1936 is the year of jade discovery near Lander. Starting in 1936 and ending in 1945, jade hunting was done principally by Wyoming residents. During the summer of 1945, some 7,000 to 8,000 pounds of jade were collected. Wyoming jade hunter Allan Branham, who is credited as being the person who first discovered American nephrite jade, once stated that "Jade lures and lures as no other stone. It is as bad as the "gold fever", and once entangled with jade, one seldom recovers." Large boulders of nephrite have been found in Wyoming. The largest specimen ever found was a 14,000 pound boulder of low-quality black jade reportedly found in the prospect at the southern end of the Wind River Mountains. Some of the best specimens come from the area around Jeffrey City."

--------------

Age: Precambrian (probably Proterozoic)

Locality: unrecorded locality in the Granite Mountains, central Wyoming, USA

The Oscar Wilde Memorial (1997)

By Danny Osborne

Commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group

The lens that I used is very sharp so you can now read the quotes on the black pillars if you view the higher resolution versions of the photographs.

I assume that that restoration work is underway as the two small bronze figures are missing from the two pillars which appear to be in better condition than they were the last time I paid a visit to the park.

Oscar Wilde’s (1854-1900) rich and dramatic portrayals of the human condition have made him one of Ireland’s most popular and loved writer’s. His short stories, plays and poems continue to inspire and entertain people the world over. This memorial fittingly captures Wilde’s dramatic and audacious personality. Commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group, and created by Irish sculptor Danny Osborne, the memo- rial took almost two and a half years from conception to completion. Geologists, quarry owners, glass workers and foundries from all over the world were consulted. Osborne used complementary colour stones and also sought out stones with varying textures to give a much more lifelike representation of Wilde than in a conventional statue.

These stones and materials include bronze, glass, granite, jade, porcelain, quartz and thulite. As one can see Wilde’s green jacket of nephrite jade from Canada, is complimented by red cuffs made of thulite from Norway. The sculpture is accompanied by two stone pillars which are covered in quotations of Wilde’s writing. These quotes set out these thoughts, opinions and witticisms on art and life. The quotes were selected by a mixture of poets, public figures and artists who use Wilde’s own words to pay tribute to him. The etchings of the chosen quotes copy the personal handwriting of figures including Seamus Heaney, John B. Keane and President Michael D. Higgins. Placed on top of the pillars are two small bronze sculptures, one of a pregnant woman who represents Wilde’s wife Constance and the theme of life, staring accusingly across the path at her husband, while the other is a male torso representing Dionysus and the theme of art. With Wilde, reclining on his rocky perch, facing towards his childhood home at No. 1 Merrion Square.

Danny Osborne has worked as a very successful full time artist since 1971. He has travelled extensively, participated in expeditions to the Arctic, Andes and the Himalayas, and has documented his experiences through painting and sculpture. Osborne’s sculptures tend to be created using a variety of stones and porcelain like The Oscar Wilde Memorial.

Cowell.Captain Matthew Flinders charted this harbour entrance in 1802 but it was Governor Gawler who visited by ship in 1840 and named it Franklin Harbour after the governor of Van Diemen’s Land who had been a seaman on Flinders’ ship the Investigator in 1802. The McKechnie brothers took up a pastoral lease from here to Cleve in 1853. The land was surveyed for closer settlement (the Hundred of Playford 1878) and the town surveyed and gazetted in 1880. Governor Jervois named it after a friend of his Sir John Cowell. The new wheat farmers needed a port and the first jetty opened at Cowell in 1882. The District Council was formed in 1888 a sign of progress in the settlement. The old buildings of Cowell include the Post Office 1884 now the town museum; the Institute 1892 with additions in 1912; the District Council Offices 1912; the Methodist Church 1908; the Anglican Church 1909; the Masonic Lodge 1909;the former Baptist Church 1914, from 1933 Lutheran; the Franklin Harbour Hotel built in 1881 as a single storey hotel with the upper floored added in 1907; and the impressive Commercial Hotel built in 1910; the Police Station 1904; the former Bank of Adelaide 1908; the chaff mill 1908; RSL Hall 1953. In 1965 a deposit of jade (nephrite) was discovered in the hills west of Cowell and it is still mined there. It is the jade used in Chinese carvings and premier Cowell black jade is highly prized. The deposits are one of the largest in the world. Nearby Port Gibbon was used to ship out wheat from the earliest days. In 1915 a small town was surveyed here. During World War Two four concrete bomb shelters and radio towers 132 feet high were built to detect any Japanese enemy shipping heading towards the BHP naval ship building yards at Whyalla. By the time the shelters were completed peace had been declared. The shelters were sold to farmers in 1946. Two remain.

Lavender jadeitite from the Jurassic of Burma. (field of view ~3.8 cm across)

“Jade” refers to more than one specific type of metamorphic rock. The four categories of “jade” are:

1) jadeitite (jadeite jade)

2) nephrite/nephritite (nephrite jade)

3) chromian jade (maw sit sit)

4) serpentine jade

Jadeitite (= jadeite jade) is a rare metamorphic rock composed of jadeite pyroxene (Na(Al,Fe)(Si2O6)). Published research on Burmese jade generally indicates that the jadeitite rock masses formed by metasomatism of albitites (= plagioclase feldspar metamorphites) at the periphery of serpentinized mantle peridotite bodies. The mantle peridotite was part of a subducting slab of Mesozoic-aged oceanic lithosphere that was emplaced upward and against southeast Asian continental lithosphere by obduction.

The rock shown above is lavender jadeitite, which is a scarce color variety. Whitish and near-white jadeite occurs throughout this rock,plus hints of pale-greenish gray jadeite near the lower left edge.

Composition: the lavender color of the jadeite clinopyroxene (Na(Al,Fe)(Si2O6)) in this rock appears to be the result of ferrous iron to ferric iron (Fe+2 → Fe+3) intervalence charge transfer (Rossman, 1974).

Geologic unit: Hpakan-Tawmaw Jade Tract, Hpakan Ultramafic Body, Naga-Adaman Ophiolite

Age: Syngenetic zircons indicate that Burmese jadeitite formed at 147 Ma (late Tithonian Stage, near-latest Jurassic. The serpentinite host rocks formed (metamorphic age) at 163 Ma (Middle Jurassic). Older literature interprets Burmese jadeitite as Tertiary in age, hosted by Late Creatceous to Eocene serpentinized peridotites.

Locality: alluvial clast (placer jade) from unrecorded locality (possibly in the vicinity of Phakant), upper reaches of the Uyu River (Uru River), western Kachin State, Indo-Burma Range, northern Burma

--------------

References on Burmese jade:

Bender, F. 1983. Geology of Burma. Berlin. Gebruder Borntraeger. 260 pp.

Hughes, R.W., O. Galibert, G. Bosshart, F. Ward, Oo T., M. Smith, Sun Tay Thye & G.E. Harlow. 2000. Burmese jade: the inscrutable gem. Gems & Gemology 36(1): 2-26.

Qiu Zhili, Wu Fuyuan, Yang Shufeng, Zhu Min, Sun Jinfeng & Yang Ping. 2008. Age and genesis of the Myanmar jadeite: constraints from U-Pb ages and Hf isotopes of zircon inclusions. Chinese Science Bulletin 54: 658-668.

Rossman, G.R. 1974. Lavender jade, the optical spectrum of Fe3+ and Fe2+ --> Fe3+ intervalence charge transfer in jadeite from Burma. American Mineralogist 59: 868-870.

Shi Guanghai, Cui Wenyuan, Cao Shumin, Jiang Neng, Jian Ping, Liu Dunyi, Miao Laicheng & Chu Bingbing. 2008. Ion microprobe zircon U-Pb age and geochemistry of the Myanmar jadeitite. Journal of the Geological Society of London 165: 221-234.

Shi Guanghai, Cui Wenyuan, Wang Changqiu & Zhang Wenhuai. 2000. The fluid inclusions in jadeitite from Pharkant area, Myanmar. Chinese Science Bulletin 45: 1896-1901.

Shi Guang-Hai, Jiang Neng, Liu Yan, Wang Xia, Zhang Zhi-Yu & Xu Yong-Jing. 2009. Zircon Hf isotope signature of the depleted mantle in the Myanmar jadeitite: implications for Mesozoic intra-oceanic subduction between the Eastern Indian Plate and the Burmese Platelet. Lithos 112: 342-350.

Shi Guanghai, Jiang Neng, Wang Yuwang, Zhao Xin, Wang Xia, Li Guowu, E. Ng & Cui Wenyuan. 2010. Ba minerals in clinopyroxene rocks from the Myanmar jadeitite area: implications for Ba recycling in subduction zones. European Journal of Mineralogy 22: 199-214.

Shi Guanghai, Wang Xia, Chu Bingbing & Cui Wenyuan. 2009. Jadeite jade from Myanmar: its texture and gemmological implications. The Journal of Gemmology 31: 185-195.

Photographed at the "Tomb Treasures" exhibit at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, California.

The Oscar Wilde Memorial (1997)

By Danny Osborne

Commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group

The lens that I used is very sharp so you can now read the quotes on the black pillars if you view the higher resolution versions of the photographs.

I assume that that restoration work is underway as the two small bronze figures are missing from the two pillars which appear to be in better condition than they were the last time I paid a visit to the park.

Oscar Wilde’s (1854-1900) rich and dramatic portrayals of the human condition have made him one of Ireland’s most popular and loved writer’s. His short stories, plays and poems continue to inspire and entertain people the world over. This memorial fittingly captures Wilde’s dramatic and audacious personality. Commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group, and created by Irish sculptor Danny Osborne, the memo- rial took almost two and a half years from conception to completion. Geologists, quarry owners, glass workers and foundries from all over the world were consulted. Osborne used complementary colour stones and also sought out stones with varying textures to give a much more lifelike representation of Wilde than in a conventional statue.

These stones and materials include bronze, glass, granite, jade, porcelain, quartz and thulite. As one can see Wilde’s green jacket of nephrite jade from Canada, is complimented by red cuffs made of thulite from Norway. The sculpture is accompanied by two stone pillars which are covered in quotations of Wilde’s writing. These quotes set out these thoughts, opinions and witticisms on art and life. The quotes were selected by a mixture of poets, public figures and artists who use Wilde’s own words to pay tribute to him. The etchings of the chosen quotes copy the personal handwriting of figures including Seamus Heaney, John B. Keane and President Michael D. Higgins. Placed on top of the pillars are two small bronze sculptures, one of a pregnant woman who represents Wilde’s wife Constance and the theme of life, staring accusingly across the path at her husband, while the other is a male torso representing Dionysus and the theme of art. With Wilde, reclining on his rocky perch, facing towards his childhood home at No. 1 Merrion Square.

Danny Osborne has worked as a very successful full time artist since 1971. He has travelled extensively, participated in expeditions to the Arctic, Andes and the Himalayas, and has documented his experiences through painting and sculpture. Osborne’s sculptures tend to be created using a variety of stones and porcelain like The Oscar Wilde Memorial.

ABSTRACTION / GEOMETRY

Maimeri Polycolor acrylic on paper 56 x 39 cm.

From April 30 till May 11, 2014 the work was exhibited at the "Abstract Painting In The Spirited Space" show / Central House of Artists, Moscow - Gallery "New Era".

Nephrite jade from the Precambrian of Wyoming, USA. (public display, University of Wyoming Geological Museum, Laramie, Wyoming, USA)

Nephrite jade (nephritite) is a crystalline-textured to felted-textured metamorphic rock principally composed of one or more amphibole minerals (tremolite to actinolite, Ca2Mg5Si8O22(OH)2 to Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2).

Nephrite jade was discovered in Wyoming in the 1930s, resulting in a "jade rush" that lasted for several decades. Most recovered material is alluvial jade, produced by paleoerosion of jade outcrops. Eroded clasts of jade were transported downstream and subsequently buried with other poorly-sorted sediments. Some Wyoming jade has been collected from in-situ outcrops.

The mottled greenish nephrite jade sample seen here has a lustrous polish that formed from natural abrasion by winds. Any rock that has natural wind polish is called a ventifact.

---------------

From museum signage:

"Jade is an ornamental stone found in many parts of the world. Jade consists of two minerals, nephrite and jadeite. Nephrite is a vareity of the amphibole mineral actinolite: Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2. Jadeite on the other hand is a type of pyroxene and forms monoclinic crystals. Jadeite's chemical formula is Na(Al,Fe+3)Si2O6."

"The word "jade" is derived from the Spanish term piedra de ijada (first recorded in 1565), of "flank stone", because it had a reputed efficacy in curing ailments of the loins and kidneys. Nephrite gets its name from Latin "lapis nephriticus", meaning "kidney stone" because it was often worn to remedy diseases of the kidneys."

"Jade is about as hard as quartz, quite tough, beautifully colored, and can easily be shaped. Both nephrite and jadeite were used during the Stone and Bronze Age and in the ancient dynasties of China."

"Nephrite is the most common form of the two varieties, being found in a creamy white form as well as various green hues. The green color is the result of iron within the crystal lattice. When iron is not present, the mineral is colorless to cloudy white. Jadeite, on the other hand, shows more color variations, including blue, lavender, pink, and green. Jadeite is found in fewer than 12 documented productive places around the world. The translucent emerald-green jadeite is the most valued variety, both now and historically. Places like Guatemala and Burma are principal locations for jadeite. Canada is the main producer of lapidary nephrite. Jade is the official gemstone of British Columbia, where it is found in the Lillooet, Liard, and Omenica Mining Divisions. Nephrite jade was used mostly in pre-1800 China as well as New Zealand, the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts of North America, Neolithic Europe, and Southeast Asia. Jadeite was used by Neolithic Japanese and European cultures."

"Nephrite jade is found in several places in the United States, including the states of Alaska, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wyoming. Jadeite on the other hand is found in California, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Washington."

"Wyoming is known as the Jade State. Nephrite jade was adopted as Wyoming's official gemstone on January 25, 1967. Governor Stanley K. Hathaway signed legislation introduced by the 39th legislature, which established nephrite jade as the state gemstone of Wyoming."

"Nephrite is found in a vast region that runs roughly from Lander southwest to Farson, south to teh Red Desert in Sweetwater County, east to Seminoe Dam, north to Alcova, and westward back to Lander. Colors range from black, dark green, emerald green, apple green, gray, pink, and white. Lighter colors of jade, especially apple green, are most in demand for gemstones. Because jade hunters have scoured all over south-central Wyoming for nearly six decades, apple green jade is very rare to find."

"Sources cite that 1936 is the year of jade discovery near Lander. Starting in 1936 and ending in 1945, jade hunting was done principally by Wyoming residents. During the summer of 1945, some 7,000 to 8,000 pounds of jade were collected. Wyoming jade hunter Allan Branham, who is credited as being the person who first discovered American nephrite jade, once stated that "Jade lures and lures as no other stone. It is as bad as the "gold fever", and once entangled with jade, one seldom recovers." Large boulders of nephrite have been found in Wyoming. The largest specimen ever found was a 14,000 pound boulder of low-quality black jade reportedly found in the prospect at the southern end of the Wind River Mountains. Some of the best specimens come from the area around Jeffrey City."

--------------

Age: Precambrian (probably Proterozoic)

Locality: unrecorded locality in the Granite Mountains, central Wyoming, USA

Jadeitite with weathering rind from the Jurassic of Burma. (~6.2 cm across along the base)

“Jade” refers to more than one specific type of metamorphic rock. The four categories of “jade” are:

1) jadeitite (jadeite jade)

2) nephrite/nephritite (nephrite jade)

3) chromian jade (maw sit sit)

4) serpentine jade

Jadeitite (= jadeite jade) is a rare metamorphic rock composed of jadeite pyroxene (Na(Al,Fe)(Si2O6)). Published research on Burmese jade generally indicates that the jadeitite rock masses formed by metasomatism of albitites (= plagioclase feldspar metamorphites) at the periphery of serpentinized mantle peridotite bodies. The mantle peridotite was part of a subducting slab of Mesozoic-aged oceanic lithosphere that was emplaced upward and against southeast Asian continental lithosphere by obduction.

Geologic unit: Hpakan-Tawmaw Jade Tract, Hpakan Ultramafic Body, Naga-Adaman Ophiolite

Age: Syngenetic zircons indicate that Burmese jadeitite formed at 147 Ma (late Tithonian Stage, near-latest Jurassic. The serpentinite host rocks formed (metamorphic age) at 163 Ma (Middle Jurassic). Older literature interprets Burmese jadeitite as Tertiary in age, hosted by Late Creatceous to Eocene serpentinized peridotites.

Locality: alluvial clast (placer jade) from unrecorded locality (possibly in the vicinity of Phakant), upper reaches of the Uyu River (Uru River), western Kachin State, Indo-Burma Range, northern Burma

--------------

References on Burmese jade:

Bender, F. 1983. Geology of Burma. Berlin. Gebruder Borntraeger. 260 pp.

Hughes, R.W., O. Galibert, G. Bosshart, F. Ward, Oo T., M. Smith, Sun Tay Thye & G.E. Harlow. 2000. Burmese jade: the inscrutable gem. Gems & Gemology 36(1): 2-26.

Qiu Zhili, Wu Fuyuan, Yang Shufeng, Zhu Min, Sun Jinfeng & Yang Ping. 2008. Age and genesis of the Myanmar jadeite: constraints from U-Pb ages and Hf isotopes of zircon inclusions. Chinese Science Bulletin 54: 658-668.

Rossman, G.R. 1974. Lavender jade, the optical spectrum of Fe3+ and Fe2+ --> Fe3+ intervalence charge transfer in jadeite from Burma. American Mineralogist 59: 868-870.

Shi Guanghai, Cui Wenyuan, Cao Shumin, Jiang Neng, Jian Ping, Liu Dunyi, Miao Laicheng & Chu Bingbing. 2008. Ion microprobe zircon U-Pb age and geochemistry of the Myanmar jadeitite. Journal of the Geological Society of London 165: 221-234.

Shi Guanghai, Cui Wenyuan, Wang Changqiu & Zhang Wenhuai. 2000. The fluid inclusions in jadeitite from Pharkant area, Myanmar. Chinese Science Bulletin 45: 1896-1901.

Shi Guang-Hai, Jiang Neng, Liu Yan, Wang Xia, Zhang Zhi-Yu & Xu Yong-Jing. 2009. Zircon Hf isotope signature of the depleted mantle in the Myanmar jadeitite: implications for Mesozoic intra-oceanic subduction between the Eastern Indian Plate and the Burmese Platelet. Lithos 112: 342-350.

Shi Guanghai, Jiang Neng, Wang Yuwang, Zhao Xin, Wang Xia, Li Guowu, E. Ng & Cui Wenyuan. 2010. Ba minerals in clinopyroxene rocks from the Myanmar jadeitite area: implications for Ba recycling in subduction zones. European Journal of Mineralogy 22: 199-214.

Shi Guanghai, Wang Xia, Chu Bingbing & Cui Wenyuan. 2009. Jadeite jade from Myanmar: its texture and gemmological implications. The Journal of Gemmology 31: 185-195.

The Oscar Wilde Memorial (1997)

By Danny Osborne

Commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group

The lens that I used is very sharp so you can now read the quotes on the black pillars if you view the higher resolution versions of the photographs.

I assume that that restoration work is underway as the two small bronze figures are missing from the two pillars which appear to be in better condition than they were the last time I paid a visit to the park.

Oscar Wilde’s (1854-1900) rich and dramatic portrayals of the human condition have made him one of Ireland’s most popular and loved writer’s. His short stories, plays and poems continue to inspire and entertain people the world over. This memorial fittingly captures Wilde’s dramatic and audacious personality. Commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group, and created by Irish sculptor Danny Osborne, the memo- rial took almost two and a half years from conception to completion. Geologists, quarry owners, glass workers and foundries from all over the world were consulted. Osborne used complementary colour stones and also sought out stones with varying textures to give a much more lifelike representation of Wilde than in a conventional statue.

These stones and materials include bronze, glass, granite, jade, porcelain, quartz and thulite. As one can see Wilde’s green jacket of nephrite jade from Canada, is complimented by red cuffs made of thulite from Norway. The sculpture is accompanied by two stone pillars which are covered in quotations of Wilde’s writing. These quotes set out these thoughts, opinions and witticisms on art and life. The quotes were selected by a mixture of poets, public figures and artists who use Wilde’s own words to pay tribute to him. The etchings of the chosen quotes copy the personal handwriting of figures including Seamus Heaney, John B. Keane and President Michael D. Higgins. Placed on top of the pillars are two small bronze sculptures, one of a pregnant woman who represents Wilde’s wife Constance and the theme of life, staring accusingly across the path at her husband, while the other is a male torso representing Dionysus and the theme of art. With Wilde, reclining on his rocky perch, facing towards his childhood home at No. 1 Merrion Square.

Danny Osborne has worked as a very successful full time artist since 1971. He has travelled extensively, participated in expeditions to the Arctic, Andes and the Himalayas, and has documented his experiences through painting and sculpture. Osborne’s sculptures tend to be created using a variety of stones and porcelain like The Oscar Wilde Memorial.

The Oscar Wilde Memorial (1997)

By Danny Osborne

Commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group

The lens that I used is very sharp so you can now read the quotes on the black pillars if you view the higher resolution versions of the photographs.

I assume that that restoration work is underway as the two small bronze figures are missing from the two pillars which appear to be in better condition than they were the last time I paid a visit to the park.

Oscar Wilde’s (1854-1900) rich and dramatic portrayals of the human condition have made him one of Ireland’s most popular and loved writer’s. His short stories, plays and poems continue to inspire and entertain people the world over. This memorial fittingly captures Wilde’s dramatic and audacious personality. Commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group, and created by Irish sculptor Danny Osborne, the memo- rial took almost two and a half years from conception to completion. Geologists, quarry owners, glass workers and foundries from all over the world were consulted. Osborne used complementary colour stones and also sought out stones with varying textures to give a much more lifelike representation of Wilde than in a conventional statue.

These stones and materials include bronze, glass, granite, jade, porcelain, quartz and thulite. As one can see Wilde’s green jacket of nephrite jade from Canada, is complimented by red cuffs made of thulite from Norway. The sculpture is accompanied by two stone pillars which are covered in quotations of Wilde’s writing. These quotes set out these thoughts, opinions and witticisms on art and life. The quotes were selected by a mixture of poets, public figures and artists who use Wilde’s own words to pay tribute to him. The etchings of the chosen quotes copy the personal handwriting of figures including Seamus Heaney, John B. Keane and President Michael D. Higgins. Placed on top of the pillars are two small bronze sculptures, one of a pregnant woman who represents Wilde’s wife Constance and the theme of life, staring accusingly across the path at her husband, while the other is a male torso representing Dionysus and the theme of art. With Wilde, reclining on his rocky perch, facing towards his childhood home at No. 1 Merrion Square.

Danny Osborne has worked as a very successful full time artist since 1971. He has travelled extensively, participated in expeditions to the Arctic, Andes and the Himalayas, and has documented his experiences through painting and sculpture. Osborne’s sculptures tend to be created using a variety of stones and porcelain like The Oscar Wilde Memorial.

A trio of cabochons cut from a small slab of Big Sur nephrite jade -- still on nails. Lots of color variation (due to a gradation of iron and magnesium content (more iron makes darker jade). All are necklaces now.

Per Wikipedia:

"The Oscar Wilde Memorial Sculpture is a collection of three statues in Merrion Square in Dublin, Ireland, commemorating Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde (1854-1900). The sculptures were unveiled in 1997 and were designed and made by Danny Osborne.

English sculptor Osborne was commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group to create a statue commemorating Wilde, which was unveiled in 1997, by Wilde's grandson Merlin Holland.

Since marble alone was deemed inadequate, the statue was formed from different coloured stones from three continents. The torso is of green nephrite jade from British Columbia, Canada, and pink thulite from Norway. The legs are of Norwegian Blue Pearl granite with the shoes being black Indian charnockite and finished with bronze shoelace tips.

The statue also wears a Trinity College tie made from glazed porcelain, and three rings – Wilde's wedding ring and two scarabs, one for good luck, the other for bad luck.

The statue is mounted with Wilde reclining on a large quartz boulder obtained by Osborne himself from Ireland's Wicklow Mountains.

The sculpture also includes two pillars flanking the boulder with one pillar having a nude pregnant representation of Wilde's wife Constance Lloyd on top. The other one has a male torso representing Dionysus, the Greek God of drama and wine, atop it. Both flanking sculptures are in bronze and granite, and both pillars have inscriptions from Wilde's poems carved onto them.

When the statue was unveiled in 1997, it was the first statue commemorating Wilde, who had died 97 years earlier. It received near unanimous praise for the materials used and for its location near Wilde's childhood home at 1, Merrion Square.

In 2010, the porcelain head of Wilde had to be replaced because cracks were forming on it. The porcelain head was replaced by a new one made of white jadeite."

DSC_0691

Per Wikipedia:

"The Oscar Wilde Memorial Sculpture is a collection of three statues in Merrion Square in Dublin, Ireland, commemorating Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde (1854-1900). The sculptures were unveiled in 1997 and were designed and made by Danny Osborne.

English sculptor Osborne was commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group to create a statue commemorating Wilde, which was unveiled in 1997, by Wilde's grandson Merlin Holland.

Since marble alone was deemed inadequate, the statue was formed from different coloured stones from three continents. The torso is of green nephrite jade from British Columbia, Canada, and pink thulite from Norway. The legs are of Norwegian Blue Pearl granite with the shoes being black Indian charnockite and finished with bronze shoelace tips.

The statue also wears a Trinity College tie made from glazed porcelain, and three rings – Wilde's wedding ring and two scarabs, one for good luck, the other for bad luck.

The statue is mounted with Wilde reclining on a large quartz boulder obtained by Osborne himself from Ireland's Wicklow Mountains.

The sculpture also includes two pillars flanking the boulder with one pillar having a nude pregnant representation of Wilde's wife Constance Lloyd (1859-1898) on top. The other one has a male torso representing Dionysus, the Greek God of drama and wine, atop it. Both flanking sculptures are in bronze and granite, and both pillars have inscriptions from Wilde's poems carved onto them.

When the statue was unveiled in 1997, it was the first statue commemorating Wilde, who had died 97 years earlier. It received near unanimous praise for the materials used and for its location near Wilde's childhood home at 1, Merrion Square."

DSC_0689 V1

Nephrite jade with weathering rind from the Precambrian of Wyoming, USA. (public display, University of Wyoming Geological Museum, Laramie, Wyoming, USA)

Nephrite jade (nephritite) is a crystalline-textured to felted-textured metamorphic rock principally composed of one or more amphibole minerals (tremolite to actinolite, Ca2Mg5Si8O22(OH)2 to Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2).

Nephrite jade was discovered in Wyoming in the 1930s, resulting in a "jade rush" that lasted for several decades. Most recovered material is alluvial jade, produced by paleoerosion of jade outcrops. Eroded clasts of jade were transported downstream and subsequently buried with other poorly-sorted sediments. Some Wyoming jade has been collected from in-situ outcrops.

---------------

From museum signage:

"Jade is an ornamental stone found in many parts of the world. Jade consists of two minerals, nephrite and jadeite. Nephrite is a vareity of the amphibole mineral actinolite: Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2. Jadeite on the other hand is a type of pyroxene and forms monoclinic crystals. Jadeite's chemical formula is Na(Al,Fe+3)Si2O6."

"The word "jade" is derived from the Spanish term piedra de ijada (first recorded in 1565), of "flank stone", because it had a reputed efficacy in curing ailments of the loins and kidneys. Nephrite gets its name from Latin "lapis nephriticus", meaning "kidney stone" because it was often worn to remedy diseases of the kidneys."

"Jade is about as hard as quartz, quite tough, beautifully colored, and can easily be shaped. Both nephrite and jadeite were used during the Stone and Bronze Age and in the ancient dynasties of China."

"Nephrite is the most common form of the two varieties, being found in a creamy white form as well as various green hues. The green color is the result of iron within the crystal lattice. When iron is not present, the mineral is colorless to cloudy white. Jadeite, on the other hand, shows more color variations, including blue, lavender, pink, and green. Jadeite is found in fewer than 12 documented productive places around the world. The translucent emerald-green jadeite is the most valued variety, both now and historically. Places like Guatemala and Burma are principal locations for jadeite. Canada is the main producer of lapidary nephrite. Jade is the official gemstone of British Columbia, where it is found in the Lillooet, Liard, and Omenica Mining Divisions. Nephrite jade was used mostly in pre-1800 China as well as New Zealand, the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts of North America, Neolithic Europe, and Southeast Asia. Jadeite was used by Neolithic Japanese and European cultures."

"Nephrite jade is found in several places in the United States, including the states of Alaska, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wyoming. Jadeite on the other hand is found in California, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Washington."

"Wyoming is known as the Jade State. Nephrite jade was adopted as Wyoming's official gemstone on January 25, 1967. Governor Stanley K. Hathaway signed legislation introduced by the 39th legislature, which established nephrite jade as the state gemstone of Wyoming."

"Nephrite is found in a vast region that runs roughly from Lander southwest to Farson, south to teh Red Desert in Sweetwater County, east to Seminoe Dam, north to Alcova, and westward back to Lander. Colors range from black, dark green, emerald green, apple green, gray, pink, and white. Lighter colors of jade, especially apple green, are most in demand for gemstones. Because jade hunters have scoured all over south-central Wyoming for nearly six decades, apple green jade is very rare to find."

"Sources cite that 1936 is the year of jade discovery near Lander. Starting in 1936 and ending in 1945, jade hunting was done principally by Wyoming residents. During the summer of 1945, some 7,000 to 8,000 pounds of jade were collected. Wyoming jade hunter Allan Branham, who is credited as being the person who first discovered American nephrite jade, once stated that "Jade lures and lures as no other stone. It is as bad as the "gold fever", and once entangled with jade, one seldom recovers." Large boulders of nephrite have been found in Wyoming. The largest specimen ever found was a 14,000 pound boulder of low-quality black jade reportedly found in the prospect at the southern end of the Wind River Mountains. Some of the best specimens come from the area around Jeffrey City."

--------------

Age: Precambrian (probably Proterozoic)

Locality: unrecorded locality in the Granite Mountains, central Wyoming, USA

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Jadeitite with weathering rind from the Jurassic of Burma. (field of view ~2.2 cm across)

“Jade” refers to more than one specific type of metamorphic rock. The four categories of “jade” are:

1) jadeitite (jadeite jade)

2) nephrite/nephritite (nephrite jade)

3) chromian jade (maw sit sit)

4) serpentine jade

Jadeitite (= jadeite jade) is a rare metamorphic rock composed of jadeite pyroxene (Na(Al,Fe)(Si2O6)). Published research on Burmese jade generally indicates that the jadeitite rock masses formed by metasomatism of albitites (= plagioclase feldspar metamorphites) at the periphery of serpentinized mantle peridotite bodies. The mantle peridotite was part of a subducting slab of Mesozoic-aged oceanic lithosphere that was emplaced upward and against southeast Asian continental lithosphere by obduction.

Geologic unit: Hpakan-Tawmaw Jade Tract, Hpakan Ultramafic Body, Naga-Adaman Ophiolite

Age: Syngenetic zircons indicate that Burmese jadeitite formed at 147 Ma (late Tithonian Stage, near-latest Jurassic. The serpentinite host rocks formed (metamorphic age) at 163 Ma (Middle Jurassic). Older literature interprets Burmese jadeitite as Tertiary in age, hosted by Late Creatceous to Eocene serpentinized peridotites.

Locality: alluvial clast (placer jade) from unrecorded locality (possibly in the vicinity of Phakant), upper reaches of the Uyu River (Uru River), western Kachin State, Indo-Burma Range, northern Burma

--------------

References on Burmese jade:

Bender, F. 1983. Geology of Burma. Berlin. Gebruder Borntraeger. 260 pp.

Hughes, R.W., O. Galibert, G. Bosshart, F. Ward, Oo T., M. Smith, Sun Tay Thye & G.E. Harlow. 2000. Burmese jade: the inscrutable gem. Gems & Gemology 36(1): 2-26.

Qiu Zhili, Wu Fuyuan, Yang Shufeng, Zhu Min, Sun Jinfeng & Yang Ping. 2008. Age and genesis of the Myanmar jadeite: constraints from U-Pb ages and Hf isotopes of zircon inclusions. Chinese Science Bulletin 54: 658-668.

Rossman, G.R. 1974. Lavender jade, the optical spectrum of Fe3+ and Fe2+ --> Fe3+ intervalence charge transfer in jadeite from Burma. American Mineralogist 59: 868-870.

Shi Guanghai, Cui Wenyuan, Cao Shumin, Jiang Neng, Jian Ping, Liu Dunyi, Miao Laicheng & Chu Bingbing. 2008. Ion microprobe zircon U-Pb age and geochemistry of the Myanmar jadeitite. Journal of the Geological Society of London 165: 221-234.

Shi Guanghai, Cui Wenyuan, Wang Changqiu & Zhang Wenhuai. 2000. The fluid inclusions in jadeitite from Pharkant area, Myanmar. Chinese Science Bulletin 45: 1896-1901.

Shi Guang-Hai, Jiang Neng, Liu Yan, Wang Xia, Zhang Zhi-Yu & Xu Yong-Jing. 2009. Zircon Hf isotope signature of the depleted mantle in the Myanmar jadeitite: implications for Mesozoic intra-oceanic subduction between the Eastern Indian Plate and the Burmese Platelet. Lithos 112: 342-350.

Shi Guanghai, Jiang Neng, Wang Yuwang, Zhao Xin, Wang Xia, Li Guowu, E. Ng & Cui Wenyuan. 2010. Ba minerals in clinopyroxene rocks from the Myanmar jadeitite area: implications for Ba recycling in subduction zones. European Journal of Mineralogy 22: 199-214.

Shi Guanghai, Wang Xia, Chu Bingbing & Cui Wenyuan. 2009. Jadeite jade from Myanmar: its texture and gemmological implications. The Journal of Gemmology 31: 185-195.

Per Wikipedia:

"The Oscar Wilde Memorial Sculpture is a collection of three statues in Merrion Square in Dublin, Ireland, commemorating Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde (1854-1900). The sculptures were unveiled in 1997 and were designed and made by Danny Osborne.

English sculptor Osborne was commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group to create a statue commemorating Wilde, which was unveiled in 1997, by Wilde's grandson Merlin Holland.

Since marble alone was deemed inadequate, the statue was formed from different coloured stones from three continents. The torso is of green nephrite jade from British Columbia, Canada, and pink thulite from Norway. The legs are of Norwegian Blue Pearl granite with the shoes being black Indian charnockite and finished with bronze shoelace tips.

The statue also wears a Trinity College tie made from glazed porcelain, and three rings – Wilde's wedding ring and two scarabs, one for good luck, the other for bad luck.

The statue is mounted with Wilde reclining on a large quartz boulder obtained by Osborne himself from Ireland's Wicklow Mountains.

The sculpture also includes two pillars flanking the boulder with one pillar having a nude pregnant representation of Wilde's wife Constance Lloyd on top. The other one has a male torso representing Dionysus, the Greek God of drama and wine, atop it. Both flanking sculptures are in bronze and granite, and both pillars have inscriptions from Wilde's poems carved onto them.

When the statue was unveiled in 1997, it was the first statue commemorating Wilde, who had died 97 years earlier. It received near unanimous praise for the materials used and for its location near Wilde's childhood home at 1, Merrion Square.

In 2010, the porcelain head of Wilde had to be replaced because cracks were forming on it. The porcelain head was replaced by a new one made of white jadeite."

DSC_0682 V1

Photographed at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco in California.

Jadeitite with weathering rind from the Jurassic of Burma. (~8.0 cm across at its widest)

“Jade” refers to more than one specific type of metamorphic rock. The four categories of “jade” are:

1) jadeitite (jadeite jade)

2) nephrite/nephritite (nephrite jade)

3) chromian jade (maw sit sit)

4) serpentine jade

Jadeitite (= jadeite jade) is a rare metamorphic rock composed of jadeite pyroxene (Na(Al,Fe)(Si2O6)). Published research on Burmese jade generally indicates that the jadeitite rock masses formed by metasomatism of albitites (= plagioclase feldspar metamorphites) at the periphery of serpentinized mantle peridotite bodies. The mantle peridotite was part of a subducting slab of Mesozoic-aged oceanic lithosphere that was emplaced upward and against southeast Asian continental lithosphere by obduction.

Geologic unit: Hpakan-Tawmaw Jade Tract, Hpakan Ultramafic Body, Naga-Adaman Ophiolite

Age: Syngenetic zircons indicate that Burmese jadeitite formed at 147 Ma (late Tithonian Stage, near-latest Jurassic. The serpentinite host rocks formed (metamorphic age) at 163 Ma (Middle Jurassic). Older literature interprets Burmese jadeitite as Tertiary in age, hosted by Late Creatceous to Eocene serpentinized peridotites.

Locality: alluvial clast (placer jade) from unrecorded locality (possibly in the vicinity of Phakant), upper reaches of the Uyu River (Uru River), western Kachin State, Indo-Burma Range, northern Burma

--------------

References on Burmese jade:

Bender, F. 1983. Geology of Burma. Berlin. Gebruder Borntraeger. 260 pp.

Hughes, R.W., O. Galibert, G. Bosshart, F. Ward, Oo T., M. Smith, Sun Tay Thye & G.E. Harlow. 2000. Burmese jade: the inscrutable gem. Gems & Gemology 36(1): 2-26.

Qiu Zhili, Wu Fuyuan, Yang Shufeng, Zhu Min, Sun Jinfeng & Yang Ping. 2008. Age and genesis of the Myanmar jadeite: constraints from U-Pb ages and Hf isotopes of zircon inclusions. Chinese Science Bulletin 54: 658-668.

Rossman, G.R. 1974. Lavender jade, the optical spectrum of Fe3+ and Fe2+ --> Fe3+ intervalence charge transfer in jadeite from Burma. American Mineralogist 59: 868-870.

Shi Guanghai, Cui Wenyuan, Cao Shumin, Jiang Neng, Jian Ping, Liu Dunyi, Miao Laicheng & Chu Bingbing. 2008. Ion microprobe zircon U-Pb age and geochemistry of the Myanmar jadeitite. Journal of the Geological Society of London 165: 221-234.

Shi Guanghai, Cui Wenyuan, Wang Changqiu & Zhang Wenhuai. 2000. The fluid inclusions in jadeitite from Pharkant area, Myanmar. Chinese Science Bulletin 45: 1896-1901.

Shi Guang-Hai, Jiang Neng, Liu Yan, Wang Xia, Zhang Zhi-Yu & Xu Yong-Jing. 2009. Zircon Hf isotope signature of the depleted mantle in the Myanmar jadeitite: implications for Mesozoic intra-oceanic subduction between the Eastern Indian Plate and the Burmese Platelet. Lithos 112: 342-350.

Shi Guanghai, Jiang Neng, Wang Yuwang, Zhao Xin, Wang Xia, Li Guowu, E. Ng & Cui Wenyuan. 2010. Ba minerals in clinopyroxene rocks from the Myanmar jadeitite area: implications for Ba recycling in subduction zones. European Journal of Mineralogy 22: 199-214.

Shi Guanghai, Wang Xia, Chu Bingbing & Cui Wenyuan. 2009. Jadeite jade from Myanmar: its texture and gemmological implications. The Journal of Gemmology 31: 185-195.

Nephrite jade ventifact from the Precambrian of Wyoming, USA. (public display, Wyoming Geological Survey, Laramie, Wyoming, USA)

Nephrite jade (nephritite) is a crystalline-textured to felted-textured metamorphic rock principally composed of one or more amphibole minerals (tremolite to actinolite, Ca2Mg5Si8O22(OH)2 to Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2).

This gorgeous piece of green nephrite jade has a lustrous polish, the result of natural abrasion polishing by winds. Any rock that has natural wind polish is called a ventifact.

Nephrite jade was discovered in Wyoming in the 1930s, resulting in a "jade rush" that lasted for several decades. Most recovered material is alluvial jade, produced by paleoerosion of jade outcrops. Eroded clasts of jade were transported downstream and subsequently buried with other poorly-sorted sediments. Some Wyoming jade has been collected from in-situ outcrops.

This 218 pound specimen of nephrite jade is a large paleoclast, ultimately derived from Precambrian outcrops in the southern end of the Wind River Range (most Wyoming nephrite jade has a geologic provenance in the Granite Mountains.). The Wind River Range mountains were uplifted in the Late Eocene and eroded, producing much fanglomerate debris, which was buried to form the Ice Point Conglomerate (Upper Eocene). The Ice Point Conglomerate itself was buried by post-Eocene sediments and later re-exposed during the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene by downfaulting of the Split Rock Syncline. Nephrite jade clasts from the Ice Point Conglomerate were eroded and surface-exposed to abrading-polishing winds during the Pleistocene and Holocene.

Age: Precambrian (probably Proterozoic)

Locality: unrecorded locality at Crooks Mountain, south of the Sweetwater River & south of the western end of the Granite Mountains, southeastern Fremont County, central Wyoming, USA

Provenance: collected by Ray Morgan & Irene Morgan in the 1940s; donated to the Wyoming Geological Survey in 2000.

--------------

Mostly synthesized from:

Love, J.D. 1970. Cenozoic geology of the Granite Mountains area, central Wyoming. United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 495-C. 154 pp. 4 pls.

The Oscar Wilde Memorial (1997)

By Danny Osborne

Commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group

The lens that I used is very sharp so you can now read the quotes on the black pillars if you view the higher resolution versions of the photographs.

I assume that that restoration work is underway as the two small bronze figures are missing from the two pillars which appear to be in better condition than they were the last time I paid a visit to the park.

Oscar Wilde’s (1854-1900) rich and dramatic portrayals of the human condition have made him one of Ireland’s most popular and loved writer’s. His short stories, plays and poems continue to inspire and entertain people the world over. This memorial fittingly captures Wilde’s dramatic and audacious personality. Commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group, and created by Irish sculptor Danny Osborne, the memo- rial took almost two and a half years from conception to completion. Geologists, quarry owners, glass workers and foundries from all over the world were consulted. Osborne used complementary colour stones and also sought out stones with varying textures to give a much more lifelike representation of Wilde than in a conventional statue.

These stones and materials include bronze, glass, granite, jade, porcelain, quartz and thulite. As one can see Wilde’s green jacket of nephrite jade from Canada, is complimented by red cuffs made of thulite from Norway. The sculpture is accompanied by two stone pillars which are covered in quotations of Wilde’s writing. These quotes set out these thoughts, opinions and witticisms on art and life. The quotes were selected by a mixture of poets, public figures and artists who use Wilde’s own words to pay tribute to him. The etchings of the chosen quotes copy the personal handwriting of figures including Seamus Heaney, John B. Keane and President Michael D. Higgins. Placed on top of the pillars are two small bronze sculptures, one of a pregnant woman who represents Wilde’s wife Constance and the theme of life, staring accusingly across the path at her husband, while the other is a male torso representing Dionysus and the theme of art. With Wilde, reclining on his rocky perch, facing towards his childhood home at No. 1 Merrion Square.

Danny Osborne has worked as a very successful full time artist since 1971. He has travelled extensively, participated in expeditions to the Arctic, Andes and the Himalayas, and has documented his experiences through painting and sculpture. Osborne’s sculptures tend to be created using a variety of stones and porcelain like The Oscar Wilde Memorial.

Image using a Photoshop field blur effect.

Per Wikipedia:

"The Oscar Wilde Memorial Sculpture is a collection of three statues in Merrion Square in Dublin, Ireland, commemorating Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde (1854-1900). The sculptures were unveiled in 1997 and were designed and made by Danny Osborne.

English sculptor Osborne was commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group to create a statue commemorating Wilde, which was unveiled in 1997, by Wilde's grandson Merlin Holland.

Since marble alone was deemed inadequate, the statue was formed from different coloured stones from three continents. The torso is of green nephrite jade from British Columbia, Canada, and pink thulite from Norway. The legs are of Norwegian Blue Pearl granite with the shoes being black Indian charnockite and finished with bronze shoelace tips.

The statue also wears a Trinity College tie made from glazed porcelain, and three rings – Wilde's wedding ring and two scarabs, one for good luck, the other for bad luck.

The statue is mounted with Wilde reclining on a large quartz boulder obtained by Osborne himself from Ireland's Wicklow Mountains.

The sculpture also includes two pillars flanking the boulder with one pillar having a nude pregnant representation of Wilde's wife Constance Lloyd (1859-1898) on top. The other one has a male torso representing Dionysus, the Greek God of drama and wine, atop it. Both flanking sculptures are in bronze and granite, and both pillars have inscriptions from Wilde's poems carved onto them.

When the statue was unveiled in 1997, it was the first statue commemorating Wilde, who had died 97 years earlier. It received near unanimous praise for the materials used and for its location near Wilde's childhood home at 1, Merrion Square."

DSC_0689 V5

A whole mythos has grown up around this extraordinary block of solid jade. Even our guidebook perpetuated the tale that it was a gift from Rameses II on the occasion of the peace treaty between Egypt & the Hittite empire. So I got a terrific thrill out of touching something that might have been touched by Rameses. Alas, it was not to be! Archaeologists say that it was probably quarried locally. It lies in what seems to have been a storeroom in the main temple. Most likely it had been intended as raw material for a sculpture but was never carved, & was too heavy to carry when the city was abandoned upon the fall of the Hittite civilization.