Almost a century ago, 150 Chinese artisans spent a decade carving and polishing a sculpture of unparalleled craftsmanship. They shaped miniature doors, balconies, and bells; they cut eggshell-thin chains and 400 uniform pillars. The finished piece, an exquisite jade pagoda, stands nearly five feet tall atop a teak altar. Hundreds of thousands flocked to see this delicate work when it debuted in 1933, first at the Chicago World’s Fair and then in several other major American cities over the next two decades. Some described it as the Eighth Wonder of…
