Collectively, the class of sculptures, containers, and other objects and artifacts carved in jade, which is any of several varieties of fine-grained rock composed of jadeite, nephrite, serpentine, or other mineralogically related materials. Prominent examples of jades include carved jade objects produced in China from the Neolithic Period (ca. 3000–2000 BCE) onward. The Chinese have historically regarded carved-jade objects as intrinsically valuable, and they metaphorically equated jade with purity and indestructibility. In local the material term "jade (rock)" plus a more specific object name may be used, such as "jade (rock)" + "figurines."

Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus 

http://vocab.getty.edu/page/aat/300184767