posted on August 7, 2004 04:45:33 PM new
It's Angus MacChung, the inventor of Scotch Whiskey, dressed & ready for the ancient Highland sport of Pagoda Throwing!
“Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we! They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.” ~ GWBush White House 8/5/4
posted on August 7, 2004 08:07:21 PM new
I went to the San Francisco Asian Art Museum last week with my little boy. He only liked the Samurai Warriors' apparel and weapons.(figures) There was nothing even similar to your statue there. Must be something made for tourists. Maybe someone else can shine some light on this.
posted on August 8, 2004 04:11:51 AM new
Only judging by the fact that the detail on the piece is not very good, I'd say it's not terribly old and probably made for the tourist trade. The old pieces tend to be highly detailed. For something oriental to be considered OLD, think 17th or 18th century. Also, another thing to keep in mind is that the lighter the jade, the older and better the piece. Most collectors prefer the light jade (although personally, I like the darker shades). It was this light nephrite jade that was used on the older pieces.
IMO, I wouldn't date it prior to the 1950's and even though it's hard to judge from a photograph, it looks like jadeite to me which is still a jade. Jadeite is more easily found than nephrite jade which is becomming increasingly harder to find.
BTW - A good way to test (in an inconspicuos place) is with a steel pocket knife. Nephrite should not scratch and it is also fairly transluscent. This could be a Tawain piece as they did a lot of carving in the darker jades.
Well, that's all my brain could figure this morning. Still, a pretty cool statue.
Cheryl
. . .if you still try to defend the infamies and horrors perpetrated by that Antichrist- I really believe he is Antichrist- I will have nothing more to do with you and you are no longer my friend.. . - War and Peace, Tolstoy
posted on August 8, 2004 06:03:57 AM new
use a true stainless steel knife like the swiss pocket knife which contains no carbon steel.
If it cannot be scratched ,then it is harder than steel,which can be jade or aventurine or saphire or ruby or diamond,they are all harder than steel.
The polymer jade cannot be scratched either-this is low quality jade subjected to high pressure so the internal structure is broken to allow injection of color and then stabilised by adding resin.
Light colored nephrite jade is the cheapest kind of jade you can find,jadeite jade is actually an entirely different kind of stone mostly found in burma,it comes in green,white and black and lavender.
The most sought after jadeite jade is the green one,the greener the better-imperial green is the kind you see in soetheby auction.
Jadeite is more expensive and used in jewelry and nephrite jade is used in carving and can be black,mutton white,spinach green,celedon,brown.
Your piece looks like nephrite jade and is carved badly,i dont know why the guy who looks like a military officer is holding a pagoda,i cant think of any hero in chinese history who is seen with a pagoda??
You can search on Ebay and see how much nephrite jade figurines fetch for.I would date it to later period 70s-90s where they use machine tools to carve.
It may just be better for you to keep the piece than sell it on Ebay,i have seen dealers selling larger pieces at one penny and make money on shipping.
-sig file -------we eat to live,not live to eat.
Benjamin Franklin
[ edited by stopwhining on Aug 8, 2004 06:06 AM ]
Question on Nephrite. I have an OLD belt buckel that was carved from Nephrite (dated to 18th century). I was told that Nephrite is more valuable for Chinese objects because it's what they used the most (which is why it's harder to find). I still have difficulty in distinquishing one jade from another. Besides being lighter, isn't Nephrite more transluscent? I'm totally confused now because what you've stated is a bit different from what I've been told. I was told most early carvings were done in Nephrite. I do know, however, that imperial jade is the most valuable. My brother has an imperial jade ring and the color is unbelieveable. Sigh. . .I can't get him to part with it. I just thought it would make a great Christmas gift for someone - ME!
We do concur that the carving is not good and that it is probably not very old in terms of Chinese antiques.
Cheryl
. . .if you still try to defend the infamies and horrors perpetrated by that Antichrist- I really believe he is Antichrist- I will have nothing more to do with you and you are no longer my friend.. . - War and Peace, Tolstoy
posted on August 8, 2004 07:08:42 AM new
Bev,
The chinese have been carving nephrite jade for centuries,most of the jade is found in remote areas of Northern China and places like Turkestan.
The women will wade into water barefoot and feel the stones in riverbed,some rolled down the hills and could be huge boulder.
Back then ,they carve them as figurines,urns,incense burners,panels,not jewelry.
Then during the Qing dynasty,some one went to Burma and came back with jadeite jade(kingfisher jade as they call it),they like the color so much ,they start turning them into jewelry such as brooches,bangles,pendants.
They call that jade as well until the westerners come and find out it is an entirely different kind of stone.
On the Mohl's scale,jadeite jade is actually harder than nephrite jade and since it is found in lesser quantity and only in Burma,it becomes more expensive.
A lot of people have tried to add color to jadeite jade like spraying ,deepfrying but the color wont stick,until of course polymer jade comes along,but then polymer jade is not really created by mother nature.
If you ever go to a jewelry store with geminologists on site ,they can tell the difference with their machines.
Both nephrite jade and jadeite jade do share some common attributes like you describe-they are translucent,never transparent.
They are poor conductor of heat,thats why they are cold to the touch(so is glass,it is colder to the touch).
They are compact for their size,they are actually rather dull and they have to be polished or lacquered to give a shine.
The chinese myth or old wife tale that if you wear a piece of jade long enough,the body warmth will make it greener is not true.
If the jade is turning greener,it is because it is not jade,jade is almost non porous,thats why it is so difficult to dye and it takes thousand of years under the ground for mother nature to create the color,so your body warmth is not going to do the trick.
Most of the faking and dying is with jadeite jade,thats where the money is,aventurine is hard and it is from india,so called indian jade.
Serpertine has a nice green color but is soft,of course there is jet which is very soft,soapstone is soft and easy to carve,then there is glass and resin.
a few years ago,white jade becomes popular and so someone comes up with synthetic white jade and pour them in mold to turn them into figurines.
Someone said there is jadeite jade in Mexico and thats what the incas have when the spaniards arrived,but no one has found one single jade mine in mexico,they believe the jade comes from Guatamala.
If your brother has imperial jade,he should have it insured.
-sig file -------we eat to live,not live to eat.
Benjamin Franklin
