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Central Asia refers to the central region of Eurasia and is composed of vast deserts and grassy plains. Over thousands of years, many nomadic tribes have thrived in this area. Among them, the Mongolian and Turkic peoples continue to make up its population. In the 14^th century, Timur, the son-in-law of Mongol clan leaders and of Turkic descent, established the Timurid Empire (1370-1506) with the city of Samarkand as his capital. The Khotan region, the primary source of jade, lay east of the Timurid Empire. From textual references, we know that the inhabitants of Central Asia were already able to carve jade in the early 15^th century.

In the 18^th century, the Ch'ien-lung Emperor of the Ch'ing dynasty established control over the Dzungar and Uighur peoples and renamed the territory "Sinkiang." Many jade bowls, plates and urns came into the Ch'ing court as tribute from this region. The first display case in the exhibition holds the "Bowl with Deep Foot" given to the Ch'ien-lung Emperor as a tribute from a Dzungar chieftain, and the "Jade Urn" from the Muslim regions.

During the Ch'ien-lung and Chia-ch'ing reigns, tribute jades from the Muslim regions were continuously sent to the court. Some were carved with poems written by the emperor, serving as display pieces in important palaces. Most jade pieces, however, were placed in "Muslim cloth bags" and piled up in a small storage room in the eastern side of the Ch'ien-ching Palace. These vessels were usually plain with bottoms conspicuously differentiated from those in Chinese style. Many had thick walls, were not particularly lustrous, were coarsely produced and some even bore traces of long-time usage.

Jade Urn  Central Asian Diameter of mouth: 9.3 cm, diameter of base: 7.3 cm, height: 6.65 cm  │1│2│

Jade Teapot Central Asian  Height: 19.3 cm, width: 9.6 cm, depth: 7.45 cm │1│