Asian Arts | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries | Message Board

Hello Everyone,
I would appreciate any information regarding approximate age and style of this pair of elephants. They were purchased from a local antique shop. They are approximately 6 inches long and 3 1/2 inches tall, not including the stands.

Thanks
Clay

Look more like molded glass than 'jade' (carved hardstones of many kinds are mistaken for nephrite or jadeite by the novice).

Consider completely uniform color, very rarely seen in stone.

Chinese have made glass items imitating jade since more than 2000 years, but not usually with actual idea to sell *as* jade.

Still, glass items can be decorative, and even if these were made as trinkets the 'shou' characters and the figures themselves wish you 'long life'.

Good luck,
Cal

I am sure that those elephants are not Jade. Are you sure that it is a stone??
Ernest

Dear Clay

They could be any stone, but not true jade (nephrite and jadeite).

Can they be scratched with iron?

Have fun
Anita

Thanks Cal, Ernest and Anita,

Anita, yes, I tried scratching and left no mark. I'm adding more pictures.

Thanks!
Clay

The first picture of the three new pictures show the top of the elephant in better light and show some crack lines and its texture looks like that of stone, however it is still very difficult to tell what it was made of from pictures alone. If it passed the scratch test (provided it was done correctly), it could be made of bowenite, nephrite or quartz. A S.G. test may be the test that can tell for sure what they were made of.

The two elephants look too perfect to be carved. More like they are molded. Pictures are simply not good enough to tell.

Possibly made of some types of resin or bone? Do not look like jade. Hope you do not pay too much.

B

Hi Clay,
can you post some photos of the undersides, including the bottoms of the feet?
Also, can you try some macro shots close up of the tusks and heads?

Cheers
Gman

Thanks Bill and Gman,

Gman, I'll post the pictures soon.

Clay

Asian Arts | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries | Message Board