Monday
Sep062004
Polar Jade Lotus Peak
Monday, September 6, 2004 at 07:07PM
By Herbert Giess
The material:
This material is the specially structured Polar Jade Nephrite mined by Kirk Makepeace. The material is characterized by a very contorted substructure where watery white areas alternate with emerald colored ones. In the green areas also a dusting of green particles (chromite?) is present which seem to have penetrated along the fractures. The material has fresh and healed fractures making its working somewhat difficult. Along certain fractures recently water had infiltrated turning the green and white nephrite into a more brownish material. These are “rotten” areas and any fracture passing through it will cause the piece to break at this point. Other fractures, not stained brown, are healthy enough to survive careful slab polishing. The slab surface has been polished dry to its final stage with 2000 SiC paper so to give a more oily and less glassy surface sheen.
The shape:
In order to maximize the available healthy material and exploit the interesting colors (like a stained glass window) I opted to cut out the contours of a mountain from this 5-7mm thin slab. Looking for connections to China I gave it the name “Lotus Peak” which is the highest peak in the famed Huang Shan or Yellow Mountain range and I approximated the shape as found in old Chinese prints. In these and all classical Chinese prints, mountains are represented in a quite stylistical view more drawn to inspire and convey a message than to give a scientifically true picture of the mountain.
The pictures:
The Polar Jade of Kirk Makepeace is exceptional and like a stained glass window when a thin cut (57mm) polished slab is illuminated from the back. The contorted white nephrite is then in stark contrast with the deep emerald green sections. When the polished section is photographed with front illumination less color contrast is noticeable and the green sections seem just to decorate the ancient fractures and not so much penetrate into the white nephrite matrix.
More of this material?
Kirk Makepeace is storing this type material for nephrite jade connaisseurs when it is extracted from his Polar Jade B.C. mine. Kirl is gladly willing to sell you thin slabs as the boulders become available. The ideal thickness is about 5-7mm. Slabs about 20x20inches maximum are possible with variable amounts of “brown” or “rotten” areas. No warranty about a particular quantity and structure can be given as Mother Nature mixes the paint pot and we can only watch what wonderfull palette she is able to create.
Herbert Giess
Zurich, Switzerland
The material:
This material is the specially structured Polar Jade Nephrite mined by Kirk Makepeace. The material is characterized by a very contorted substructure where watery white areas alternate with emerald colored ones. In the green areas also a dusting of green particles (chromite?) is present which seem to have penetrated along the fractures. The material has fresh and healed fractures making its working somewhat difficult. Along certain fractures recently water had infiltrated turning the green and white nephrite into a more brownish material. These are “rotten” areas and any fracture passing through it will cause the piece to break at this point. Other fractures, not stained brown, are healthy enough to survive careful slab polishing. The slab surface has been polished dry to its final stage with 2000 SiC paper so to give a more oily and less glassy surface sheen.
The shape:
In order to maximize the available healthy material and exploit the interesting colors (like a stained glass window) I opted to cut out the contours of a mountain from this 5-7mm thin slab. Looking for connections to China I gave it the name “Lotus Peak” which is the highest peak in the famed Huang Shan or Yellow Mountain range and I approximated the shape as found in old Chinese prints. In these and all classical Chinese prints, mountains are represented in a quite stylistical view more drawn to inspire and convey a message than to give a scientifically true picture of the mountain.
The pictures:
The Polar Jade of Kirk Makepeace is exceptional and like a stained glass window when a thin cut (57mm) polished slab is illuminated from the back. The contorted white nephrite is then in stark contrast with the deep emerald green sections. When the polished section is photographed with front illumination less color contrast is noticeable and the green sections seem just to decorate the ancient fractures and not so much penetrate into the white nephrite matrix.
More of this material?
Kirk Makepeace is storing this type material for nephrite jade connaisseurs when it is extracted from his Polar Jade B.C. mine. Kirl is gladly willing to sell you thin slabs as the boulders become available. The ideal thickness is about 5-7mm. Slabs about 20x20inches maximum are possible with variable amounts of “brown” or “rotten” areas. No warranty about a particular quantity and structure can be given as Mother Nature mixes the paint pot and we can only watch what wonderfull palette she is able to create.
Herbert Giess
Zurich, Switzerland
Reader Comments