Lion

An imaginative piece has been carved from translucent crystal with grayish veins and viridian sections mottled with ripples of green. The translucence dominates the lion's body, and the thin green layer has been cut precisely to form the top of its head and the switch of its tail. The lion's crouching posture is classical, with soft, simple features on the head, body, and limbs. In wonderful contrast, the dark-green eyebrows, hair, and tail switch are incised with a dense series of extraordinarily even striations. The sensitive work on the facial features includes an open mouth exposing a tooth on each side.

Taking advantage of natural colors to create an interesting piece is called qiaozuo (clever creation). Before the mid-1970s, the technique was thought to have begun in the Tang era. In the later 1970s, a crystal piece of joined turtles with a black layer of upper shell was found in a much earlier Shang tomb (Zgyqqj 1993, vol. 2, plate 97). The technique requires both imagination and accuracy. In the piece shown here, use of the green areas for two parts of the top has been superbly coordinated.