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I know almost nothing about jade and soapstone, but I think this little Buddha could maybe have some potential so I am curious what others think of it. Is this a handmade diamond in the rough with some good age or just another modern machine made interpretation with little value? Thanks for your thoughts and any details you can point to about this piece that will help me understand jade a little better. Cheers! John
Hi Johnshoe,
Sadly your buddha is not jade. It's soapstone carving from the 20th/21st century. Due to poor images I am unable to determine if it's a hand carved, drilled or by laser. I suspect it's the later. I have seen some remarkable so-called carving of late. All done by laser and very convincing.
You will notice that the base is heavily scratched. This is because the stone is very soft. You could easily mark it with your fingernail.
If this was genuine nephrite jade the base would not be easily scratched. That's not to infer that it (jade) can't be. If this was say a genuine jade carving from 19th century one would be able to see very tiny scratches with the aid of your trusty loupe.
I can't tell you how to buy or tell the difference between jade and its numerous simulants in a single post. It's impossible. It takes many years of studying and more importantly hands-on. You can't learn this purely from images. You must handle both genuine and simulants. Also it's not just limited to nephrite jade. There is jadeite jade which is even more difficult than jade due to its high price. It's been stated by many dealers that at least 95% of all jadeite on the market today is either fake or has been treated.
A couple of books that I would recommend are:
Jade by Roger Kervene
Chinese jade from the Neolithic to the Qing by Jessica Rawson. This edition is excellent and is often cited by leading dealers and auction houses.
What you really need John is a mentor in jade if you are genuinely interested. One who is dedicated only to jade and has been collecting/dealing for many years. I mentioned dealing because I know collectors who have been buying fakes for years! It's only when they try to sell part of their collection was there a rude awakening.
Mark
Mark is definitely correct about collecting it - highly specialized, and so many collectors have large collections of utter junk.
In fact, in 10 years,I've only ever bought 15-20 pieces ..I stay away unless it's absolutely obvious I'm buying a quality piece.
Bit, I like your soapstone figure. I don't know if it's old, but it sure seems well carved.
I'm not familiar with the use of lasers to carve soapstone figures... Mark, can you share what you know? Is it like a 3d printer?
Very interesting.
Hi Greeno107,
Yes it's by 3d printer. Unfortunately I can't show you any at the moment as I deleted them long ago. They are very convincing at first sight. Actually when I first saw one I thought it was genuine until a friend told me otherwise.
Genuine carving from the late Qing period or earlier are now very collectable and priced so.
Because it's one of the softest stones it can be easily caved by laser.
Mark
Yes, I would love to have a mentor(s). for now you all are filling that role to some extent and I thank you for that. And I would love to handle a large number of all types of real and reproductions to compare. I am trying to learn as much as possible. Thanks for all the advice. Every little bit helps. For the most part I don't pay too much attention to the 95% of the jade and soapstone I encounter. I spend time looking at high end auction pieces to discern what I can about the genuine examples. In doing so I am trying to embed a certain sense of quality to my standards that I can use as a general filter. Most things I see when searching around for treasures are now obvious lesser quality, so I guess I'm learning a little bit at least. But I have no clue when it comes to high end reproductions. I definitely could fall prey to that trap, so I avoid them for now. Unless of course I happen upon something that I sense has potential that may have fallen through the cracks, and I can grab it for little money so it's not a huge gamble, but potentially a great payoff. I wasn't sure if this little Buddha could be one of those. I would have to buy it without handling it though and then examine it more closely in person once it arrived, so that isn't ideal.
One specific thing perhaps you can help me learn from with this Buddha is the area on his belly to the inside of the fold in his robe. That area and also other areas next to the folds is rough, as though it wasn't polished. Is that typical of genuine examples or is that a sign of poor workmanship and possible machine done items?
Hi Johnshoe,
Yes your absolutely correct with regard to the clothing area.
Whenever you encounter a carved piece whether it's soapstone, jade or other and you see this. Do not buy it!
It means that the piece is highly probable to be resin. With the item in question it is in my opinion not resin but laser carved.
That's why it's imperative that you always carry and acquaint yourself with a loupe like I believe you do. You would be surprised how many people I have encountered who own a loupe but don't know how to use it properly.
Mark
@imperialfinegems Here is another question I have regarding resin. I keep seeing examples listed as "hand carved resin". My idea of resin is that it is basically molded plastic, so maybe I have a misunderstanding. Are some of these resin pieces actually hand carved? And if so, does that mean that they do have some value because of the handmade artistry involved in their production? Or perhaps by hand carved they mean that it was finished by hand after being molded by machine. Would love to know if you or anyone else here have info about any of this, because it has been baffling me. Thanks! John
Hi Johnshoe,
When you encounter resin figures etc they are nearly always molded not carved. They are in all probability hand or machine buffed/polished to remove obvious signs of the mould. It's simply a selling technique.
It's totally a waste of time and money for a person to carve resin. It has no value at all.
Mark
This was just up at Sotheby's. Looks like it didn't get off the block. The difference in quality is pretty clear I think, with this one being far superior.
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