Vintage Miniature Jade Chinese Carved Figurine. Small character, likely an Immortal, in green and rust toned jade. 

Size: 1 1/2 x 1 x 4 in. 

Jade is an umbrella term for two different types of decorative rocks used for jewelry or ornaments: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of minerals), or jadeite (a silicate of sodium and aluminum in the pyroxene group of minerals). Nephrite is typically green, although it may also be yellow, white, or black. Jadeite varies from white or near-colorless through various shades of green (including an emerald green, termed “imperial”), lavender, yellow, orange, brown, blue, and black. Jade is well known for its ornamental use in East Asian, South Asian, and Southeast Asian art. It is commonly used in Latin America, such as Mexico and Guatemala, and was highly valued by pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures. The English word jade is derived from the Spanish term piedra de ijada (first recorded in 1565) meaning “loin stone,” from its reputed efficacy in curing ailments of the loins and kidneys. Some of the longest surviving jade art comes from Neolithic times, and from the earliest Chinese Dynasties the green hue dubbed imperial was a symbol of the ruling class. It was not until 1863 that the French mineralogist Alexis Damour determined that jade was in fact two different minerals, and in some cases the term “jade” has been supplanted by museums, auctions, and collectors with their separate terms, although the singular jade is still the most common term applied to all objects that utilize the rocks.