posted on February 14, 2003 12:42:37 AM new
Happy V D everyone (Valentine's day) I am hoping we have some asian art experts in the house. Can someone help me id this piece. It looks like the elephants are made of jade and it's stand is made of some kind of marble? It is approx 2 1/2 inches across and 1 1/4 inches high. Any idea on country of origin? age? what it's used for? Sure would love to find out. Any thoughts or ideas on this piece are VERY GREATLY appreciated! I am going to try to list the fotos below;
posted on February 14, 2003 06:00:08 AM new
this is probably not jade (nephrite or jadeite),it could be soapstone or so called indian jade-aventurine or serpertine.
soapstone is soft and easy to carve.
one way to test is to compare the hardness of the stone with a stainless steel knife (a true stainless steel like the swiss pocket knife,some so called stainless stell knife sold in store has carbon content).
if it can be scratched by a stainless steel knife,then it is not jade,as jade on mohl scale is harder than stainless steel.
but aventurine is also a hard stone on the same level as jade.
soapstone is very soft,can be easily scratched by a stainless steel knife.
i have seen this design of circle of elephant made in india,so this piece could be indian made.
if it is a recent production made in china,it could just be coming out of a mold-ground the stone and mix them with resin and pour into a mold,
pretty piece,good luck
posted on February 14, 2003 02:24:57 PM new
Serpentine is also used to give a jade look and it dyes nicely. However, being much softer than nephrite or jadite, it will scratch if you use a knife.
buyhigh
posted on February 14, 2003 04:56:10 PM new
This is soapstone.They are not worth your time to list on ebay as there are hundreds of them out there. The prices seem to run at about $ 2.75 to $ 3.50 on average.
They are just cheap asian imports.
posted on February 15, 2003 08:33:07 AM new
UPDATE: My 83 year old neighbor came over last night. Being a retired jeweler / designer etc she confirmed what you all said. Soapstone! She took it a step further. She said that it looked like more than one person carved these elephants with differing degrees of skill and style. She pointed out the differences of the backs and ears etc. WOW, I am sure glad she lives right next door and I am so glad you all are there to answer these foolish questions of mine! Thanks so much!
posted on February 15, 2003 08:39:44 AM new
paloma91
I am so glad you all are there to answer these foolish questions of mine! Thanks so much!
There is no such thing as a foolish question. None of us knows everything, so there is nothing wrong with asking as that is the only way to learn.
Best to you.
posted on February 15, 2003 09:40:09 AM new
wow-more than one carver??labor must be cheap there,also did your neighbor say it has been dyed??
these days with powerful handheld electric tools,it does not take much time to complete one set.
posted on February 15, 2003 09:57:27 AM new
I asked her if they were dyed. She said no but she did mention the power tools. Geez, 83 years old and she knew exactly how they were done. She said that she could tell how they cut a strip of stone and how wide and then exactly what tool they used for what. She said with today's power tools, it doesnt take any time at all to make these. She is absolutely amazing! I have had questions on some stones and she can tell exactly what they are. If she doesnt know what they are, she KNOWS how to test them to verify what they are. Kind of neat living right next door to an encyclopedia of knowledge.
She's alot of fun too. she has the mind of a 20 year old. We are both single women, it is really funny when we both start looking at the same guy's "buns" and comment on them
