Description
Jade, agate, mineral crystal, and other semi-precious stones are known as gyoku (“jewel” or “gem”). In hardstone carving, these stones are cut and sculpted to produce a wide variety of objects including tea bowls and incense containers.
Process
- STEP 1
The rough stone is cut with consideration to the variegation and patterning.
- STEP 2
The piece is shaped by first chiseling a lattice pattern into the surface and then removing the latticed stone.
- STEP 3
Sand is applied to a steel grinding disk and rotated to carve the stone.
- STEP 4
The piece is fine polished using polishing powder and a rotating wooden disk.
