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Hello all, I picked this piece up a couple of years back in the north east US. After digging around on the web, and reading several books, I'm inclined to believe the weathering on this piece is legitimate and suggests it may date back to the ~Han Dynasty. It's certainly not your typical acid dipped fake.
The author of a recent 2019 book (Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums), Dr Jenny So (previous curator at the Freer gallery in DC), mentions using several techniques from the Harvard labs to give an accurate picture of the stone's age, including what're referred to as "pseudomorphs". Here is a small excerpt from her book (Page 37-38):
"Discoloration and alteration can provide evidence of an object's use or burial. Under high magnification, the altered zones are extremely inhomogeneous, with sprays of opaque coarser crystals and blocky transparent remnants of nephrite. Non-destructive analysis showed no discernible difference in chemistry between altered and pristine areas. This is consistent with detailed studies of alteration by several authors, who conclude that the main change during whitening and increasing opacity is textural rather than chemical.
Several objects in the Winthrop Collection have been altered during burial or deposition. This is most extreme in cases where contact with adjacent objects has altered the color and chemistry due to ingress of fluids along microfractures and on the surface. Many jades are altered to an opaque white material in which only remnants of the original green color can be seen. These altered zones are highly variable in composition, with differing levels of calcium, magnesium, silicon, and iron, and traces of copper, sulfur, and potassium. These changes suggest ingress of fluids with varying amounts of dissolved metals nad concurrent alteration of the structure."
In short, the Bixie is littered with these 'pseudomorphs' throughout, and shows evidence of crystal formations on top of the nephrite in most less polished crevices or carving locations. All of the pseudomorph clusters on the piece are raised, indicating these are 'growths' or additions to the stone, not sandblasting.
More on the piece itself; the Bixie/Chimera is (~12" tall x 10" wide). The specific gravity falls in line with nephrite (2.95), and I see evidence of wheel carving marks throughout.
I've compiled a few more points on weathering evidence based on my research below:
- Cleaving Viens - The cleaving veins seen inside the jade artifact are caused by the interaction of physical factors of heat and pressure on the jade. They are different from the cracks caused by percussion. Usually there are no exterior cracks for cleaving veins. Exterior cracks are common phenomena for cracks caused by percussion. This is present on the Bixie in a few places, but most notably on the rear leg.
- Additive Crystal Planes & Exposure Crystals - Additive crystal planes are the crystal planes added to the jade artifacts due to exterior materials. Needle-like flat crystals are fabricated into the jade itself as a new material. Exposure Crystals are crystals transformed from the jade itself due to physical factors such as heat and pressure. They are sometimes called micas. Almost all the antique jades buried underground have shown exposure crystals.
- Pseudomorphs - Often referred to as Raised Relief on Chinese nephrites, pseudomorphs form in the geochemical world, when conditions become suitable. As pseudomorphs take time to develop, they only occur on nephrites approximately Han or older. When they occur, they are multiple. Under microscopic magnification, these nodules are formed by tile-like crystals. Pseudomorphs alter from the original mineral to a new mineral depending on the environmental influence, and may have different chemical compositions. There is one essential consideration when comparing pseudomorphs on the jade surface to the naturally occurring ones. The naturally occurring pseudomorphs in general are 10,000 years or older, whereas the pseudomorphs on the jade surface are at most 6,000 years old.
- Calcification - The phenomenon of calcification is believed to be caused by decomposing the structural water of the jade. The cause of decomposition may be from the interaction of heat and the pressure of the environment where the jade is buried. Both the Pixiu and the Horse display clear evidence of calcification.
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