Nephrite is a variety of the calcium, magnesium, and iron-rich amphibole minerals tremolite or actinolite (aggregates of which also make up one form of asbestos). The chemical formula for nephrite is calcium2(magnesium, iron)5silicon8oxygen22(Ohydrogen)2.
Nephrite can be found in a translucent white to very light yellow form which is known in China as mutton fat jade, in an opaque white to very light brown or gray which is known as chicken bone jade,[Kirk Makepeace, George J. Simandl, Jade (Nephrite) in British Columbia, Canada ; in G.J. Simandl, W.J. McMillan and N.D. Robinson, (editors), 37th Annual Forum on Industrial Minerals Proceedings, Industrial Minerals with emphasis on Western North America, Paper 2004-2-57, pages 287–288 (2004). Accessed October 30, 2016] Nephrite jade was used mostly in pre-1800 China as well as in New Zealand, the Pacific Coast and Atlantic Coasts of North America, Neolithic Europe, and southeast Asia.
Name
The name
nephrite is derived from Latin lapis nephriticus, which in turn is derived from
Ancient Greek () or λίθος (), which means 'kidney stone' and is the Latin and Greek version of Spanish piedra de ijada (the origin of
jade and
jadeite).
Nephrite was deprecated by the International Mineralogical Association as a mineral species name in 1978 (replaced by tremolite).
Other names
Besides the terms already mentioned, nephrite has the following synonyms and varieties:
axe-stone,
B.C. jade,
Beilstein,
kidney stone, lapis nephriticus,
nephrite,
nephrite,
pounamu,
New Zealand greenstone,
New Zealand jade,
(dark grayish green), and talcum nephriticus.
Tomb jade or
grave jade are names given to ancient burial nephrite pieces with a brown or chalky white texture as a surface treatment.
History
Neolithic and Chalcolithic Europe
A lot of nephrite tools and amulets are known since the
Early Neolithic (7th millennium BC) to the Late Chalcolithic (5th millennium BC) periods on the
Balkans (mainly Bulgaria; also in Greece, Serbia, Croatia) from two or more unknown sources—Balkan "nephrite culture". Such tools are found in the
Late Neolithic of Poland (from the most probable local source Jordanów),
Sardinia (Italy) (unknown source) and Switzerland.
Single or just a few finds of nephrite artifacts are also reported from some other European countries.
Prehistoric and historic China
During
Neolithic times, the key known sources of nephrite jade in China for utilitarian and ceremonial jade items were the now depleted deposits in the Ningshao area in the Yangtze River Delta (
Liangzhu culture 3400–2250 BC) and in an area of the Liaoning province in
Inner Mongolia (
Hongshan culture 4700–2200 BC). Jade was used to create many utilitarian and ceremonial objects, ranging from indoor decorative items to jade burial suits. Jade was considered the "imperial gem". From about the earliest Chinese dynasties until present, the jade deposits in most use were from the region of
Khotan in the Western Chinese province of
Xinjiang (jade deposits from other areas of China, such as
Lantian County,
Shaanxi, were also in great demand). There, white and greenish nephrite jade is found in small quarries and as pebbles and boulders in the rivers flowing from the Kuen-Lun mountain range northward into the Takla-Makan desert area. River jade collection was concentrated in the
Yarkand River, and the White Jade (
Yurungkash River) and Black Jade (
Karakash River) Rivers in Khotan. From the Kingdom of Khotan, on the southern leg of the
Silk Road, yearly tribute payments consisting of the most precious white jade were made to the Chinese imperial court and there transformed into objets d'art by skilled artisans, as jade was considered more valuable than
gold or
silver.
Prehistoric Taiwan and Southeast Asia
Carved nephrite jade was the main commodity trade during the historical Maritime Jade Road, an extensive trading network connecting multiple areas in Southeast and East Asia. The nephrite jade was mined in east
Taiwan by animist Taiwanese indigenous peoples and processed mostly in the
Philippines by
Animism indigenous Filipinos. Some were also processed in
Vietnam, while the peoples of
Malaysia,
Brunei,
Singapore,
Thailand,
Indonesia, and
Cambodia also participated in the massive
animist-led nephrite jade trading network, where other commodities were also traded. Participants in the network at the time had a majority animist population. The maritime road is one of the most extensive sea-based trade networks of a single geological material in the prehistoric world. It was in existence for at least 3,000 years, where its peak production was from 2000 BCE to 500 CE, older than the Silk Road in mainland Eurasia. It began to wane during its final centuries from 500 CE until 1000 CE. The entire period of the network was a golden age for the diverse animist societies of the region.
[Tsang, Cheng-hwa (2000), "Recent advances in the Iron Age archaeology of Taiwan", Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association, 20: 153–158, doi:10.7152/bippa.v20i0.11751][Turton, M. (2021). Notes from central Taiwan: Our brother to the south. Taiwan’s relations with the Philippines date back millenia, so it’s a mystery that it’s not the jewel in the crown of the New Southbound Policy. Taiwan Times.][Everington, K. (2017). Birthplace of Austronesians is Taiwan, capital was Taitung: Scholar. Taiwan News.][Bellwood, P., H. Hung, H., Lizuka, Y. (2011). Taiwan Jade in the Philippines: 3,000 Years of Trade and Long-distance Interaction. Semantic Scholar.]
Māori
Nephrite jade in
New Zealand is known as
pounamu in the Māori language and is highly valued, playing an important role in Māori culture. It is considered a
taonga, or treasure, and therefore protected under the Treaty of Waitangi. The exploitation of it is restricted to the italic=no
iwi (tribe)
and it is closely monitored. The
South Island of New Zealand is Te Wai Pounamu in Māori—'The land Greenstone Water'—because that is where it occurs.
Weapons and ornaments are made of it; in particular the mere (short club) and the hei-tiki (neck pendant). These are believed to have their own mana (prestige), are handed down as valuable heirlooms, and often given as gifts to seal important agreements. It has also been used for a range of tools such as and was used to make nails used in construction, as Māori culture had no metalworking before European contact.
Commonly called "greenstone", jade jewellery in Māori designs is widely popular with tourists. Stone is often imported from Canada, China and Siberia, and italic=no runs a pounamu certification scheme to verify the authenticity of New Zealand stone.
General references
Inline citations
Further reading
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Adamo, I., R. Bocchio. 2013. Nephrite jade from Val Malenco, Italy: review and update. – Gems & Gemology, 49, 2, 2-10.
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Beck, R. 1991. Jade in the South Pacific. New Zealand, Australia and New Caledonia. – In: Jade (Ed. Keverne, L.). Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 221–258.
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The Bishop Collection. Investigation and Studies in Jade (Ed. Kunz, G. F.). 1906. The Devinne Press, New York, Vol. 1-2, 570 p.
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Childs-Johnson, E., G. Fang. 2009. The Chinese Jade Age: Early Chinese Jades in American Museums. Science Press, Beijing, 403 p. (in Chinese and English)
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Darwent, J. 1998. The Prehistoric Use of Nephrite on the British Columbia Plateau. No. 25. Simon Fraser University, Department of Archaeology Press, Burnaby, 123 p.
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Derevyanko, A. P., C. Tang, S. A. Komissarov, P. Ji. 2025. The various colors of jade. – First Hand Science Nauka, 2 (69), 95-116.
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East Asian Jade: Symbol of Excellence. Vol. 1-3. (Ed. Tang, Ch.). 1998. Centre for Chinese Archaeology & Art, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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Feng, X., Y. Zhang, T. Lu, H. Zhang. 2017. Characterization of Mg and Fe contents in nephrite using Raman spectroscopy. – Gems & Gemology, 2, 204-212.
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Fischer, H. 1880. Nephrit und Jadeit nach ihren mineralogischen Eigenschafen sowie nach ihrer urgeschichtlichen und ethnographischen Bedeutung. 2 Aufl., E. Scheizerbart’sche Verlaghandlung (E. Koch), Stuttgart, 417 S.
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Fischer, H. 2025. Nephrite and Jadeite (Translated and edited by R. W. Hughes). Lotus Publishing, 638 p.
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Gil, G., J. D. Barnes, C. Boschi, P. Gunia, G. Szakmány, Z. Bendő, P. Raczyński, B. Péterdi. 2015. Origin of serpentinite-related nephrite from Jordanów and adjacent areas (SW Poland) and its comparison with selected nephrite occurrences. – Geological Quarterly, 59, 3, 457-472.
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Hansford, S. H. 1968. Chinese Carved Jades. Faber and Faber, London, 131+96+8 p.
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Harlow, G. E., S. S. Sorensen, V. B. Sisson. 2007. Jade. – In: Geology of Gem Deposits (Ed. Groat, L. A.). Mineralogical Association of Canada, Short Course, 37, 207-254.
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Histoire de la ville de Khotan: tirée des annales de la chine et traduite du chinois ; Suivie de Recherches sur la substance minérale appelée par les Chinois PIERRE DE IU, et sur le Jaspe des anciens . Abel Rémusat. Paris. L’imprimerie de doublet. 1820. Downloadable from: [2]
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(Hughes, R. W., Ed.) Jade. A Gemologist's Guide. 2022. Lotus Publishing, Bangkok, Thailand, and RWH Publishing, Boulder, Colorado, USA, 536 p.
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Hung, H.-C., Y. Iizuka, P. Bellwood, K. D. Nguyen, B. Bellina, P. Silapanth, E. Dizon, R. Santiago, I. Datan, J. Manton. 2007. Ancient jades map 3000 years of prehistoric exchange in Southeast Asia. – Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 104, 50, 19745-19750.
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Jade (Ed. Keverne, L.). 1991. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, Lorenz Books, 376 p.; 1991. Anness Publishing, London.
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Ernst Kalkowsky 1906. Geologie des Nephrites im südlichen Ligurien. – Zeitschr. Deutsch. Geol. Ges., 58, 3, 307-378, pl. XVIII.
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Kolesnik, Yu. N. 1966. Nephrites of Sibiria. Nauka, Novosibirsk, 150 p. (in Russian); 1970. International Geology Review, Book Sec., 12, 10, 107 p.
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Kostov, R. I. 2013. Nephrite-yielding prehistoric cultures and nephrite occurrences in Europe: archaeomineralogical review. – Haemus Journal, 2, 11-30.
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Kostov, R. I. 2018. Objets préhistoriques en jade-néphrite (VIIe au Ve millénaires Av. J.-C.) de Bulgarie et des Balkans. – Revue de l’Association Française de Gemmologie, 204/205, Juin-Septembre, 36-42.
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Kostov, R. I., H. Protohristov, Ch. Stoyanov, L. Csedreki, A. Simon, Z. Szikszai, I. Uzonyi, B. Gaydarska, J. Chapman. 2012. Micro-PIXE geochemical fingerprinting of nephrite Neolithic artifacts from Southwest Bulgaria. – Geoarchaeology, 27, 5, 457-469.
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Laufer, Berthold, 1912, Jade: A Study in Chinese Archeology & Religion, Reprint: Dover Publications, New York. 1974.
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Leaming, S. E. 1978. Jade in Canada. – Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 78-19, 59 p.
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Li, N., F. Bai, L. Xu, Y. Che. 2023. Geochemical characteristics and ore-forming mechanism of Luodian nephrite deposit, Southwest China and comparison with other nephrite deposits in Asia. – Ore Geology Reviews, 160, 105604.
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Lin, J. C. S. 2009. The Immortal Stone. Chinese Jades from the Neolithic Period to the Twentieth Century. Scala Publishers, London, 160 p.
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Liu, S., R. W. Hughes, Z. Zhou, K. Khourie. 2024. Broken Bangle. The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature (Ed. Hughes, R. W.). 119 p.
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Liu, Y., J. Deng, G. Shi, T.-F. Yui, G. Zhang, M. Abuduwayiti, L. Yang, X. Sun. 2011. Geochemistry and petrology of nephrite from Alamas, Xinjiang, NW China. – J. Asian Earth Sciences, 42, 3, 440-451.
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Lu, B.-Q., L.-J. Qi, Y.-B. Xia, K.-C. Zhou. 2004. Mineralogy of nephrite (tremolite) cat’s eye from Sichuan Province. – Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica, 23, 3, 268-272 (in Chinese with English abstract).
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Luo, Z., M. Yang, A. H. Shen. 2015. Origin determination of dolomite-related white nephrite through iterative-binary linear discriminant analysis. – Gems & Gemology, 51, 3, 300-311. Albert Saifer,
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Meyer, A. B. 1888. The nephrite question. – American Anthropologist, 1, 3, 231-242.
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Middleton, A. 2006. Jade – geology and mineralogy. – In: Gems (Ed. O’Donoghue, M.). 2006. Sixth Ed., Butterworth-Heinemann, Elsevier, Amsterdam – Boston – Heidelberg – London, 332-355.
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Morin, J. 2016. The Salish nephrite/jade industry: ground stone celt production in British Columbia, Canada. – Lithic Technology, 41, 1, 39-59.
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Mustoe, G. E. 2024. Nephrite jade and related rocks from Western Washington State, USA: A geologic overview. – Minerals, 14, 1186.
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Sutherland, W. M. 2023. Wyoming Jade — Characteristics, History, Formation, and Occurrences. Self published, 148 p.
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External links
