ArtGenetics

🥬 Last year, this 19th century jadeite cabbage was part of the “100 Treasures, 100 Stories” exposition in the in Prague (on loan from the in Tapei).

🥬 It is a piece of jadeite carved into the shape of a napa cabbage head, and with a grasshopper and a locust camouflaged in the leaves.

🇨🇳 The napa cabbage is a type of Chinese cabbage that is widely used in East Asian cuisine. The first records of napa cabbage cultivation date back to the 15th century in the Yangtze River region in China.

🗺️ Since the 20th century, it has also become a widespread crop in Europe, the Americas, and Australia.

🕵️Spotted and reported by our very own .

🌐See also: https://www.nm.cz/en/about-us/news/100-treasures-100-stories-an-exceptional-exhibition-of-rare-jewels-from-the-imperial-collections-of-the-national-palace-museum-at-the-national-museum-of-the-czech-republic

🍊 The sweet orange (Citrus × sinensis) is not a natural species.
🧬 It is a hybrid, originating from a cross between Citrus maxima and Citrus reticulata in southern China several thousand years ago. The oldest mention of an orange in Chinese literature dates to 314 BCE. The hybridization must therefore have occurred more than 2,300 years ago.
🎄Oranges became associated with Christmas in Northern Europe because they ripen in winter and were once rare and imported. Their presence at midwinter celebrations symbolised abundance at a time of scarcity.
🎨 Still Life with Oranges, Jars, and Boxes of Sweets (1760) by Luis Meléndez