For the Autumn Collection 2025 we have selected bottles which demonstrate the range of creative possibilities of this unique stone. Jade has long history of association with Chinese art. From the Neolithic period onwards, it has been used for ritual objects such as bi discs and cong - vessels placed ceremoniously within burial sites to facilitate connection with immortalised ancestors and heavenly gods. This was the case right through to the Han dynasty, where Emperors were buried in suits made entirely from jade, sewn together by golden threads to preserve the earthly body, while ushering safe transit of the soul into the afterlife. Later, during the Qing dynasty, the use of jade shifted from ritual use to that of adornment. Scholarly objects and sculptural art forms - such snuff bottles - often maintained the symbolism of original Daoist principles.
This season’s bottles celebrate the long history of jade in Chinese art, from finely detailed carvings with poetic inscriptions, through to pebble forms which forefront the raw beauty of the natural material. Here, russet - the brown hue prized within carved nephrite - is often left in place to ‘reveal’ an image, a practice in line with the core Daoist value of ziran (自然) - naturalness or “being as things are”. Qing carvers often sought to follow the stone’s natural shape, colour and texture instead of forcing it into an entirely artificial form. An example, perhaps of their tendency to see humans in an ongoing dialogue with the natural environment, rather than separate to it. As ever, we hope that you enjoy the collection.