The Chang Collection

Carver, Designer, and Collector Chang Wen Ti (1886-1961) created one of the most important jade collections in the world from works he created, commissioned, and collected over a truely remarkable lifetime. In 1965, his family donated the collection to the Oakland Museum of California. In 2018, the collection was gifted to the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art, and the entire collection is on permanent display. 

Detail of Table Screen featuring imperial green jadeite jade set in rosewood frame.
A detail of the 12 Panel Tabel Screen featuring carvings of Flower Goddesses comissioned and designed by Chang Wen Ti and carved by Shih Jung-Ju.
Altar of the Green Jade Pagoda at the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art
Called the "Eighth Wonder of the World" when it debuted at the Century of Progress Exhibition in 1933 in Chicago, Illinois, the Altar of the Green Jade Pagoda is Chang Wen Ti's masterpiece.
Jadeite Green Jade Palace Lamps
This pair of Green Jade Palace Lamps were carved from the same nine-ton boulder that became the Altar of the Green Jade Pagoda

Altar of the Green Jade Pagoda

The collection centerpiece is the Altar of the Green Jade Pagoda, which was completed in 1933 and designed by Chang Wen Ti supervising 150 carvers’ work over a 10-year period. The monument to peace was created from five pieces which were originally part of a single 9-ton boulder unearthed in northern Burma (Myanmar) in 1915. Representing over 1.5 million hours or two hundred thousand days of labor, the pagoda is counted among the world’s masterpieces.

Alter of the Green Jade Pagoda, on display at the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art in Oak Brook, IL.

12 Panel Table Screen

Designed by Cheng Wen Ti and carved by Shih Hung-Ju from a piece of deep-green imperial jade that Chang aquired in 1929, this 12 panel table screen features one carving for every month of the lunar year with designs a d inscriptions featuring corresponding flowers and guardian spirits.

Other Selected Pieces

Entwined double fungus vase carved from jade.
This double fungus vase is a symobol of longevity.
Green and white jadeite carvings depicting Yang Guifei
This pair of jadeite statues depicts Yang Guifei or Yang Yuhuan, one of the Four Beauties in Ancient China.
Jadite purfume bottle featuring splashes of green and lavender in the shape of a cucumber.
This incredibly intricate jadeite purfume bottle depicts vegetables, melons, turnips, onions, gourds, peppers, and spice plants along with insects and a lizzard.

PERMANENT COLLECTON