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Jade-working Methods
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Like most stones, jade is too tough to be carved. A jade worker must patiently grind the stone using an abrasive—usually a mineral sand, such as garnet or quartz, mixed with water—and an assortment of cutting and shaping tools.
These illustrations by nineteenth-century artist Li Shiquan demonstrate some basic traditional jade-working techniques, which remained much the same from the time metal tools were invented (probably around 2000 B.C.) until electrically powered tools became available in the twentieth century. Before metal tools, jade workers probably used tools made of stone, bone, or bamboo.
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