This  came in one day. It was sitting on my desk in the back room when I came into work. “That’s cool.” I thought. And so it was. It turns out it is over 100 years old, possibly older. It appears to be Hetian jade, but I’m not 100% sure. I was excited to be able to play with it for a few weeks before it sold.

It ended up going right back to China, after its stay in the US. Table screens are an old Chinese traditional item. They were mainly used for decoration in the home of the elite, but larger ones served the purpose of blocking wind on the table when one was writing or painting.

Now they are sought after by collectors, and the older and more detailed the better. Adding jade to the mix adds even more value to the piece. The jade in this piece is nice, but there are nicer types out there. Imperial Jadeite is the most collectible kind. It can easily be $50,000 for a piece just in one men’s ring.