Exhibitor’s Stories

Master Tam (Jade carver)

“The Flowery Jade” | Hang Yue Jadeware

Mr. Tam grew up in Shek Kip Mei. He was an active and naughty kid who made his family worried. The family then sent Mr. Tam to a jade carver to learn floral carving when he was 13. After Mr. Tam graduated, he started his own jade company. As the business developed he also taught his girlfriend carving skills and they started working together. They were married later on and started a workshop at home.

Floral Carving is the most difficult among all types of jade carving. Mr. Tam’s favourite works are jade biscuit, jade corn and jade abalone, etc. He likes to explore the versatility of raw jade stones and carve different objects based on the colour changes of the stones. Once, he saw a raw jade that looked like a shiitake mushroom. He took it back home and carved it into a jade shiitake mushroom.

“The flowery jade” is a piece of jade that Mr. Tam gave to his wife as a gift. It is a carved Myanmar jadeite with a mix of green, purple and white. Mrs. Tam encouraged him to strive for excellence and carve the desert rose, showing its branches and leaves intersecting with holes. It is a unique gift from Mr. Tam to his wife. Because this is a flower that never dies, Mr. Tam joked that he could save money from buying flowers for his wife.