Jade, from emperors to Art déco

From the emperors of China - great intercessors between Heaven and 4 Earth -, who considered it a natural jewel, up to Cartier and the leading London and New York jewellers who sublimated it in the 20th century in the Art Déco creations inspired by the Chinese taste, jade remains this eternal and mythical stone, an object of fascination and absolute power for the sovereign. Some 330 exceptional pieces will be assembled for the first time in France, coming from 15 prestigious national and international institutions including the Taipei National Palace Museum, which is lending almost a third of the works on display. A unique opportunity for the MNAAG to present this "beautiful stone", "the image of goodness" for Confucius, and unfold the millennial history that, since the Neolithic Period up to the 1920s, has constantly pondered over its beauty, its virtue, its symbol and its prestige. A major expression of Chinese civilisation and a many-facetted material, jade belongs to the most ancient history of Chinese art. A tablet from the Neolithic Longshan culture (2300 - 1800 B.C.) evokes the precious lapidary who accompanied the emperor Qianlong all his life, for poems and seals to be engraved on the most beautiful jades of his collection.
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