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Hi,

I am writing regarding my Jade sculpture (please see the attached images)

It is a Jade sculpture and I was wondering if you could offer any assistance as what it is and when it's from it and how I should sell it?

I believe the piece to be undyed, hand carved and antique, measuring approximately 26cm in height and 17cm at the base.

Any assistance you could offer will be greatly appreciated!! Particularly if it can be linked to any dynasty or it's value.

If you have a chance, please check out the photo's on http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u239/andreajb_photo/

thankyou very much.

Hi Andrea,

Why do you think your nice carving is jade? Have you done a scratch test?

It has non-jade material added, such as at least two pieces of possibly abalone or clam shell for the mother-of-pearl effect.

Take a steel needle and in an unobtrusive place, such as on the bottom, use moderate pressure to make a small (say 2 to 3 mm long) scratch on the main stone, and add a post here about what color the scratch is. Then a person knowledgeable about hardstones should be able to tell you more.

Best regards,
Judy

Do you know how to determine the specific gravity?
If so, I might be able to help you.

bill

Judy,

I don't think anything is applied to it. Notice the color banding in the matrix in the rear pic.

I am guessing serpentine(bowenite) or possibly soapstone. Its not jadeite or nephrite, that's for sure.

Bill,

You may be right about the color differences in the stone being most of the variation in colors of carved parts. Steatite doesn't take dye very well, but maybe just well enough for the red surface treatment. I am ready to be wrong about glued-in shell!

I hope the owner will come back after a scratch test and have something of a scientific basis to go on.

Best regards,
Judy

Hi Guys,

I thought I posted a reply immediatley after Judy's reply, perhaps it wasn't validated?

Anyway, the results of the scratch test (with a sharp needle - I didn't have a pin) was that it came off White. I have never heard of this pin scratch test being used in gemmology before.
If it were nephrite/jadeite with a bit of trace element or something mixed into the chemical structure could that impact the supposed hardness... what could cause something in the jade family to become soft?

I have been told by two Australian valuers (of 70 years combined industry experience) that it is Jade, mutton fat, undyed on some kind of stone base.

Also, I recall seeing at the Hong Kong Jewellery fair a huge sculpture of Nephrite in the form of an intricate boat as well as a carosel... so I know the carving techniques exist.

I bought this at the auction of the estate of a well known socialite who's estate had been stored in trust since the 60's. It was listed in the auction as Jade.

Apologies for my post not being here earlier, I think I might have attached some larger file sizes for a close up and the file size was too large.

Kind regards and Thankyou,
Andrea.

Andrea,

Your scratch test indicates that the stone is softer than nephrite or jadeite.

Wealth of past owner has nothing to do with what the item is made of. Wealthy persons can be as ignorant as anyone else, and may be as ready to believe a vendor's story without proof. Unscrupulous vendors may produce worthless 'certificates of authenticity' or even appraise similar products with fraudulent descriptions.

If you do a simple web search, many museum sites have photos of actual 'mutton fat' jade (nephrite) available to look at. Also if you search the Forum site here, you can find many entries of valuable advice and useful web sites concerning true jade and sundry stone carvings meant to simulate jade to one extent or another.

It is still an attractive carving, and looks like better quality than most steatite carvings.

Best regards,
Judy

Well, a scratch test will rule out both jades for sure. But if it doesn't scratch,that does not mean it is a jade. For example, some seprentines are harder than steel which is about 5 on Mohs scale. There are many others as well, such as grossular garnet.

But this is serpentine or soapstone.

I am sure of it.

Also, here are some notes I made regarding the articles recent valuation....

I believe the piece to be undyed, hand carved and antique, measuring approximately 26cm in height and 17cm at the base.

The actual carving itself contains the motifs of two kinds of vegetables, one is peas to mean many offsprings and the other is pumkin to mean lucky.

It is made from good quality nephrite with white color.

It should be genuine by presenting the antiquity evidences such as differential weathering, cleaving veins and diffusive markings.

It is probably an artifact of the Qing Dynasty(A.D. 1644- A.D. 1911)

Any comments?


Cheers,
Andrea.

Andrea,

It is very difficult to date soapstone carvings. They became popular at the end of the 19th century in the West, and joined such items as 'Rose Medallion' highly enameled porcelain as cheap export and tourist wares, especially in the 1920s. It could be 5, 50 or 80 years old.

The mottled coloring of yours is typical of this mineral. It has nothing to do with the color of mutton-fat jade (nephrite).

You can tell by the break at the top of yours that this fairly soft stone is not very durable. It is readily carved, widely available and found in many decorative items such as small vases, as well as somewhat more useful items. I used to have a brush washer in an archaistic form--but not old at all.

Since jadeite and nephrite are quite hard, the techniques for forming items from them are completely different from the ease of carving soapstone.

There is no collector's premium that I know of for soapstone carvings, although there is a small market for seals or carvings of soapstone that's a fairly uniform red-orange color. It's given a different name, but it's soapstone.

Your carving has the decorative value of however much you like it.

Best regards,
Judy

Hi,

This is a type of soapstone commonly used for carving in China. It is a common variety of the type known as "Qing Tian Shi" and is carved probably in the early 1980s (based on its craftsmanship, variety of stone used and subject matter)

I agree with Dave from Asia. This is a very nice soapstone carving, and the colors are natural. The proof is in the back (third picture, typical soapstone!)Similar carvings can still be found in the markets.
Ernest

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