The Crows have traveled extensively throughout the world, but Asia is a favorite destination. "Our first visit to China came in 1976 right before Chairman Mao Tse-tung died," Mrs. Crow said. "Very few foreigners were allowed inside China at that time, but we received permission because of Dallas Market Center’s involvement with the Canton Trade Fair." Tight restrictions on exports from China prevented the Crows from making many direct buys of art during their 14 subsequent visits to the country. The majority of their collection has been obtained from individual purchases through private dealers and auction houses and through the acquisition of major collections, such as the highly respected Morrie A. Moss collection. In total, the Crows have amassed more than 4,000 pieces of Asian art, among which the 569 best were selected after extensive analysis by a noted curator for inclusion in The Crow Collection. "Trammell has always loved Chinese art – it fascinates him, especially jade," Mrs. Crow said. "And I’ve always appreciated English décor, which has been influenced by the Chinese for centuries. So it was very easy for us to develop this partnership, this love for Asian art."
Like gold in the West, jade in China symbolizes the highest aesthetic and moral excellence. According to tradition, it was Master Kong (Confucius) (trad. b. 551 B.C.) who first compared the properties of jade to benevolence, righteousness, propriety, good faith, intelligence, and loyalty. Also attributed to Confucius is the remark that a gentleman will always have jade on his person. Mr. Trammell Crow was said to have carried a small jade stone in his pocket after visiting Asia for the first time. Just as jade’s beauty symbolizes virtue, so the virtues for which it stands are believed to enhance its beauty. Very early, jade also came to connote purity, incorruptibility and immortality, doubtless because it is extraordinarily tough and therefore impervious to breakage, disintegration, or decay. Because it connotes purity and immortality, jade also came to be associated with some religious images of paradise. All of these associations interpenetrated and enriched one another.
Jadeite, called "the stubborn stone" for its extreme hardness, has for some three centuries been imported from Myanmar (Burma), usually via Yunnan Province where rare deposits have also been found. Although it lacks the traditional metaphoric associations of nephrite, jadeite’s brilliant colors have made it the preferred jade, especially for jewelry.
Jade was one of the defining luxuries of upper-class life in China during the Qing dynasty (A.D. 1644-1911). Its use probably peaked from the mid-eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth century, a period of relative stability and prosperity in which Xinjiang Province, China’s major source of nephrite, was incorporated into the empire.
Among the scholar-gentry, the scholar's studio – the room for painting, calligraphy, and music – was artfully and meticulously designed to reveal the occupant’s refinement and social values. Explore first-hand a thoughtful representation of the celebrated Chinese’s scholar’s desk inside the Jade Room of the Crow Collection. The scholar’s studio left its audience with the desired impressions of a space balancing sober elegance and simplicity. Although the scholar’s studio should successfully articulate the virtues of Confucius, these strict sensibilities were sometimes colored by the Qing love for decoration. Analogous to the Crow Collection’s scholar's desk, many of the writing and painting tools might be wholly or partly of jade: brush pots, brush washers, brush rests, water droppers, inkstone stands, seals and covered boxes for seal paste. Jade scroll weights held long handscrolls open for viewing. On all these objects the decoration might incorporate visual puns and allusions to revered figures, events of antiquity, and wishes for longevity and wealth.
A great variety of contemporary forms were also prized, including vases and covered boxes (often in the shape of animals, fruits, or flowers), small table screens, and incense sets. Jade rocks carved with landscapes and/or inscriptions were favored ornaments in wealthy Qing residences (monumental versions of these graced the imperial court). Small sculptures of real or mythological animals were popular as well. Personal accessories including hairpins and belts were desired items for a wearer to reflect his or her status and genteel sensibility.
In Buddhist and Daoist temples and on home altars, items such as icons, offering bowls, incense burners, flower vases, candlesticks, and bells and chimes might be made of jade. Like the deities themselves, jade was believed to avert evil and symbolize good, so it was especially appropriate in a religious context
