How tall is the carving? $300 sounds fare if Jade 

Hi Brian 

Thanks for your reply.

It's 12" plus the base, 14" in total . It's cold to the touch and both translucent and opaque. There are slight variations in colour in places too.

Best regards 

Chris

Posted by: @ok-tc

Hi Brian 

Thanks for your reply.

It's 12" plus the base, 14" in total . It's cold to the touch and both translucent and opaque. There are slight variations in colour in places too.

Best regards 

Chris

Ask the seller if you can scrape it with a steel knife.  Real jade won't cut, but some similar looking stones might have a mark left.  For jade, even contemporary, I really don't think the seller is asking too much. 

Could it be Serpentine  (Xiu) jade?  The dating can be as later as 1980s, as early as later Qing.  300 should be close to fair market value, if it was serpentine jade. 

The properties such as density and hardness of Serpentine jade can be extremely variable.

@ok-tc,

Hi Chris,

It's in inconclusive based on the images as to whether it's jade or not.

You would need to confirm with the seller as to what exactly it is. 

It could be jadeite jade or serpentine. It's not bowenite based on the images posted but could be. 

A specific gravity test will confirm said stone identification. A scratch test can also be performed by a knife. It will leave either a black mark or a white/clear mark. The later will indicate either nephrite jade or jadeite jade. A black line will confirm its a lower Mohs hardness test than nephrite or jadeite and hence most likely serpentine. 

There is no such material known as serpentine jade. It's simply a tool used by sellers. It's not jade but serpentine and hence a lot cheaper than jade. I would highly  recommend you to not buy serpentine carvings.

It's also difficult to determine by way of the pictures as too it's age. My personal feeling is that it's a more recent carving. So perhaps 80's. 

The price of £300 is very reasonable if it's actually either nephrite or jadeite. If it's serpentine then it is far too expensive period! 

I would ask the seller to perform a SG test or scratch test. If he is unable to do either then ask him to take it to a qualified gemologist for further examination. It's not expensive to do this. Do not ask a jeweler unless he is a gemologist. 

Is the seller a known dealer of jade carvings? 

Mark 

Posted by: @imperialfinegems

@ok-tc,

Hi Chris,

It's in inconclusive based on the images as to whether it's jade or not.

You would need to confirm with the seller as to what exactly it is. 

It could be jadeite jade or serpentine. It's not bowenite based on the images posted but could be. 

A specific gravity test will confirm said stone identification. A scratch test can also be performed by a knife. It will leave either a black mark or a white/clear mark. The later will indicate either nephrite jade or jadeite jade. A black line will confirm its a lower Mohs hardness test than nephrite or jadeite and hence most likely serpentine. 

There is no such material known as serpentine jade. It's simply a tool used by sellers. It's not jade but serpentine and hence a lot cheaper than jade. I would highly  recommend you to not buy serpentine carvings.

It's also difficult to determine by way of the pictures as too it's age. My personal feeling is that it's a more recent carving. So perhaps 80's. 

The price of £300 is very reasonable if it's actually either nephrite or jadeite. If it's serpentine then it is far too expensive period! 

I would ask the seller to perform a SG test or scratch test. If he is unable to do either then ask him to take it to a qualified gemologist for further examination. It's not expensive to do this. Do not ask a jeweler unless he is a gemologist. 

Is the seller a known dealer of jade carvings? 

Mark 

 

Hi Mark,

Many thanks for your reply. 

The guy has a professional house clearance business and often contacts me with various objects that he thinks will be of interest to me. 

I know that it's come from a very affluent area and that he's usually very reasonable.

The figure weighs 1100 grams so it's quite weighty.

I have asked him to do a scratch test on the base and it has just left a very faint clear/ white mark.

I do like the figure and think that I may take a punt on it.

Kind regards 

Chris 

Thank you all for your response.

I have asked the seller to conduct a scratch test on the base and it is very hard to do but has left just a very faint clear/white mark.

I think I will take a punt on this item as I do like it.

Best regards 

Chris 

@ok-tc,

Hi Chris,

If he did a scratch test and it left a white faint mark then it's genuine.

It's a heavy carving. 😊

Personally if I were you and based on the information you have posted that you should proceed to purchase it. 

It's a beautiful carving that is worth every penny of the asking price. Even though it's highly probable to be a more modern carving. It's still is beautiful. 

Mark 

This is a pretty carving. I'd say buy it for sure.

Scratch test does not confirm anything to be honest. 

For your information. Xiu jade from China has very variable composites, can be 100% serpentine to nearly 100% nephrite. or anything in between, and normally Xiu jade containing other kinds of minerals. Hence the hardness can be anywhere from 2.5 to 6.

I have Xiu jade piece, can not be scratched by a knife, people call this kind of stone as old Xiu jade (from old mine sites), and  the specific gravity of this piece is 2.65. and it has  typical blue/greenish color with hint of yellow. The polished surfaces kind of glassy to waxy 

I think your is most likely a Xiu jade pieces. Based on size, and quality, I think 300 pounds is very fair value. You can't buy a new from China at this price anymore. The cost of labor to carve such piece alone is more 300 pounds now.

I don't wish to get into an argument here on terms or technology. 

Xiu jade has been sold for many centuries in China as jade. But it's strictly a term used in China and is not recognized by leading dealers, auction houses, gemologists or gem laboratories outside of China period! 

If you take your prized piece to G.I.A The world's leading gem laboratory. They will examine it under very strict scientific methods and will declare it as either nephrite jade or serpentine. I use these two terms for the sake of discussion here without going into other variables such as jadeite jade or bowenite etc etc. There are far too many to list here.

G.I.A would never state it as Xiu jade because in the west it's not a known termology. Nor is it accepted. It's either one or the other(s). 

I am not going to get into a discussion about Chinese laboratories or their so-called gem certificates. 

There are many fancy names often associated with and sold as jade. Too many to list here. Including Korean jade just to name one. These are not jades. They are all serpentine, bowenite or God forbid glass! It's a terminology used loosely as a selling point. 

I am not suggesting that all items sold as Xiu jade are in fact serpentine. Just a majority are. Especially by less scrupulous dealers trying to get rid of low quality merchandise as Xiu jade. 

I dare say if you were in China during the early republic period 1912-1949 you would have difficulty with determining either. Even if you were a seasoned collector or dealer. They did not have the technology back then and had to rely on touch and look etc etc. 

Nephrite:

Mohs hardness................ 6-6.5

Reflavtive index................ 1.60-1.641

Specific Gravity................ 2.90-3.02

Serpentine:

Mohs hardness.................. 3-6

Reflactive index................. 1.56-1.57

Specific Gravity................... 2.44-2.77

A scratch test is a very useful tool but it's not indicative for many reasons. Unless the user is very experienced in the field. 

I dont know @zjadey personally but I have read all his posts herein. He is a very knowledgeable jade dealer/collector and valued member here. It's just that we differ on this point. He has his opinion. I have mine. 

Jades are a very difficult area to master. Even more so in trying to identify said by a few images. It takes many years of hands-on experience to master the art. 

Mark 

Mark:

I guess you misunderstood  me and missed my point- the Xiu jade is NOT a single mineral, but a "alloy" or "compounding" of multiple minerals So, for any inexperience person, it is hard to do a  simple scratching to tell it from nephrite. for more information about Xiu jade, there are many good explaining sources 

https://gingerchi.com/blogs/journal/mineralogy-xiu-yan-jade#:~:text=The%20Xiu%20Yan%20Jade%20is,Silicate%20%2B%20Magnesium%20Iron%20Silicate%20Hydroxide.

Commonly Xiu jade color scheme is blue/green/yellow. Polished surface is waxy to glassy. For an experienced person, can reasonable  confirm a piece is Xiu jade by color and surface reflection.  

 Xiu jade is the main source of Chinese serpentine sources and has bee used for thousand years. So, traditionally, in chinese serpentine is called Xiu jade in China

Zhen

Hi to all.

Once again thank you for all of your input.

I now have this jade item in possession and I have put  it under UV light in a dark room . It does not illuminate apart from a small repair which lights up like a drop of dayglow. 

Many thanks.

Kind regards 

Chris