Get a free estimate of your Chinese jades

If you own one or more Chinese jade objects, and would like to know their value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers can offer you their expert appraisal services.

Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and provide you with a precise estimate of its current market value.

Then, if you want to sell your work, we'll point you in the right direction to get the best possible price for it.  

Rating and value of Chinese jades

Chinese jades are currently highly sought-after collector's items. If you own one, it may be worth more than you think. On the art market, these objects can fetch very high prices under the auctioneer's hammer.  

They are particularly prized, and the price at which they sell on the art market ranges from €100 to €50,000, a fairly substantial difference, but one that speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to these objects.  

In 2013, a jade statuette from China sold for €1.56 million, whereas it was estimated at over 100 times less.

Order of value from a simple work to the most prestigious 

Scientific characteristics of Chinese jades

Chinese jade, as a material, is distinguished by scientific characteristics that transcend the realm of aesthetics to take root in that of mineralogical precision.

We know, for example, that this stone is composed mainly of two distinct varieties: nephrite, rich in calcium and magnesium, and jadeite, a sodium-aluminum silicate.

These two types, although similar in appearance to the untrained eye, have significant structural differences.

Dense, fibrous nephrite offers subtle shades from ivory white to olive green, while the rarer jadeite fascinates with its grainy texture and brilliant hues, sometimes enhanced by inclusions that seem to play with the light.

What's also striking is jade's exceptional hardness, ranging from 6 to 7 on the Mohs scale. Such solidity explains the longevity of artifacts carved in this material, surviving the centuries without significant alteration.

Yet this robustness is never at the expense of delicacy: Chinese craftsmen were able to extract incredibly fine shapes, halfway between the organic and the geometric.

Under incidental light, the surface of a jade reveals a singular translucence, a phenomenon that lends these objects an almost mystical depth.

This quality, far from being insignificant, has nourished a complex symbolism associating jade with purity, wisdom and immortality.

Finally, jade is also intriguing for its unique physical properties. Its high density and discreet fluorescence under ultraviolet rays, studied with the help of modern technologies, enable pieces to be authenticated with almost scientific rigor.

In this way, jade goes beyond its decorative role to become an interface between ancient knowledge and contemporary advances.

This stone, at the crossroads of art and science, embodies a subtle dialogue between tradition and modernity, between the hand of the craftsman and the eye of the researcher.

History and creators of Chinese jades

The history of Chinese jades is inextricably linked to the virtuosity of the sculptors and designers who, over the centuries, have elevated this stone to an eminent place in the artistic and spiritual heritage of the Middle Kingdom.

As early as the Neolithic Liangzhu dynasty (circa 3300-2200 B.C.), jade appeared as a favored material, sculpted into enigmatic geometric shapes such as bi, ritual disks, or cong, hollow cylinders, whose function seemed to blend the sacred with the cosmological.

These objects testify to an early mastery of perforation and polishing techniques, astonishing at a time when metal tools were still rare.

Over the dynasties, from the Tang to the Qing, jade art evolved in complexity and refinement. Under the Song, craftsmen explored highly sensitive naturalistic motifs: delicate flowers, birds in flight and miniature landscapes seem to come alive in the diaphanous hues of the stone.

With the Ming and Qing, jade became an ostentatious symbol of power, prized by emperors and offered as tribute.

Sculptors of this period excelled in the creation of ceremonial objects and imperial seals, where every incision and polish reveals a deep respect for the material and its spirituality. 

Their techniques, handed down from master to disciple, are based on remarkable meticulousness: bas-relief engravings, complex apertures and polishings that play with the translucence of the jade. The introduction of Buddhist and Taoist motifs into the sculptures also marks the spiritual impregnation of this art.

These creations, while responding to demanding clients, carry within them a subtle philosophy in which raw stone is transformed into an object of contemplation, bearing witness to a dialogue between man and nature.

Through these works, Chinese sculptors leave a timeless imprint, elevating jade to the status of a total art form, at once mineral, sculptural and spiritual.

Focus on Cloud and Dragon jade

The Jade with Clouds and Dragons from the imperial workshops of the Ming dynasty illustrates the extent to which hard stone sculptors were able to take advantage of the specific qualities of jade.

Their work is not limited to exploiting the translucent veins of stone: they skilfully integrate them, setting them in tension with a meticulous decorative vocabulary imbued with symbolism.

This jade thus trades simple craftsmanship for a complex narrative, in which dragons, emblematic figures of Chinese cosmology, seem to move among carefully incised cloud curls.

Craftsmen didn't just reproduce the traditional motifs of the time: they codified and systematized them, turning them into archetypes.

This treatment, as rigorous as it is elegant, places the work in a long tradition, while renewing the ornamental language of ritual objects.

The precision of the chasing and the brilliant polish of the surfaces recall the standards established under the Song, but here, the dynamism of the curves lends new vigor to these mythological representations.

This refined work can only be fully understood in the context of the imperial workshops, where each piece had to meet the highest standards of symmetry, harmony and proportion.

Jade, as a material, imposes its own laws: its extreme hardness requires special tools, and its texture demands patient polishing, or risk losing the unique lustre that gives these pieces their aura.

This discipline is reminiscent of that of classical European engravers: the lines incised on the surface are reminiscent of the ordered networks of burins by Mellan or Nanteuil.

However, far from being set in stone, this art of cutting evolves, like the striations and facets that populate jade. These details, by turns sober or abundant, reflect an intimate relationship between the craftsman and the material.

Although rooted in tradition, this jade is also part of a formal research capable of renewing established codes, while retaining a spiritual dimension deeply rooted in Chinese culture.

The success of Chinese jades at auction

The success of Chinese jade objects at auction is strikingly consistent and spectacular, as are Chinese porcelain vases, bronzes and traditional Chinese dresses.

Witness to an age-old tradition, these pieces capture the attention of both Asian and international audiences, fascinated by both their rarity and their symbolic value, as in the case of vases, Chinese bronzes or porcelain objects.

Far from being a mere passing fad, the jade market is becoming a stage where history mingles with contemporary demand, where the precious material crosses the centuries without losing its lustre.

One might ask what justifies such interest, and it seems that jade art, while drawing on deep roots, manages to embody a form of timelessness that few other art objects can claim.

The perfection of the sculptures, their technical refinement, and the mystical symbols they convey, make them coveted objects not only by collectors, but also by investors, who see in these pieces a value that goes beyond the merely aesthetic.

The symbolism of jade, its role in Chinese culture and its link with the spiritual, make it an art form steeped in both meaning and history, transcending market trends.

In this context, each sale is a reminder of the central place these objects occupy in the world's heritage, offering collectors a unique opportunity to appropriate a part of this continuity between past and present.

Recognizing original Chinese jade

As these pieces are quite successful, it is possible that they do not originate from Chinese craftsmanship. For this reason, it is essential to carry out an expert appraisal, including verification of any markings and a study of the materials used.

Knowing the value of a work 

If you happen to own a Chinese jade object, don't hesitate to request a free appraisal using the form on our website.

A member of our team of experts and certified auctioneers will contact you promptly to provide you with an estimate of the market value of your work, as well as any relevant information about it.

If you're thinking of selling your work of art, our specialists will also be on hand to help you find alternatives for selling it at the best possible price, taking market trends into account.