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Hello All! Can anyone identify the marks on this 2 5/8" high (mutton?)jade figure, and date the piece if possible? Any assistance with this query would be greatly appreciated! Thank you! David.

Marks are called : People who buy soapstone thinking that it is Jade.
Ernest

Definitely NOT mutton fat Chinese Xinjiang Nephrite. Far from that. May not even be Chinese nephrite or jadeite. Well, if your definition of Chinese Jade encompasses the other low quality Chinese stones, then you can call it jade.

Really poor carvings, aesthetics and rough mark at the bottom. The above factors already suggest that we do not have to decipher the mark below.

Modern reproduction without any doubt.

Thank you Ernest and Dave for replying to my post! The mystery deepens as I was informed by one reputable auctioneer that this was, as you stated, soapstone, however, he saw the photos of the carving only!; another auctioneer, who actually examined the carving in person, stated that it is jade (possibly mutton fat); huum! The reason for my query was merely for the marks! Another item for the shelf until further investigation! Cheers! David.

It's a 'leisure' seal and reads (when printed) Happy Happy.

However, it doesn't look of the highest aesthetic quality, as the carving of the printing surface looks to have been done with a drill.

This rudimentary carving possibly was meant to be a seal, as the characters look to be backwards. The one at right in the flipped image below is "Fu" ("good fortune" or a surname). I don't recognize the other one and can't find it in my dictionary, though it looks like the carver has tried to carve the same "Fu" under the "roof" radical with a stroke out of place. Perhaps this was a practice piece by a novice carver.

Good luck,

Bill H.

Thanx allot Bill and Mikeoz! Very informative! David.

The second character is also Fu, you can have at least one hundred different renditions of FU. The second guy who told you this is jade and mutton fat jade knows nothing about jade. Ask how much he will pay you for it.

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