Asian stone sculpture...?

[nattyboh]

Hello, I am new to the site and have an interesting object which I believe is at least some what of an antique. It is a small stone sculpture/carving that from my research I think is either brown jade or soap stone. I am trying to find out more about what this really is and who might have made it and in what time period. It is a small sculpture that is about 2 inches tall, about 1 inch wide and a bit over 4 inches long. It weighs just over a 1/4 lb. It looks as though it does have some age to it. I found it about a year and half ago while doing some cleanup work in a crawl space underneath of a house in Northern California. No markings from an artist that I have been able to find yet. As for more of a description: It is what appears to be a mother laying down with child pulling her sleeve on her left and her handling a basket full of what I think are mushrooms on her right. It has nice little fine details to it if you look close; I hope my photos come out clearly enough to see. If anyone has any idea what this is, any information would be appreciated! Thanks!

[KC]

Looks like soapstone to me....what do the rest of you think?

[talesofthesevenseas]

It's interesting that the robes seem to be very nicely done, and yet some things like the child's head and the ladie's fingers seem unusually out of proportion. The items in the figurine look to be old traditional things like the old style headrest (porcelain pillow) and the basket. Also the top-knot hairstyle on the little boy. So it looks to me like the scene it is showing is of a long ago time. Whether it is old or not, I couldn't say.

What a strange thing to find in a crawl space!

I do know of some Asian families in my area near San Francisco, who hid things under their houses when they were sent off to internment camps during WWII, in the hope that the would be able to reclaim them someday. I have an old trunk that had once been hidden in this manner under a house. I wonder if your figurine might date to that time?

How old was the house you found it under? You could research the deed on the house to find out who lived there, and perhaps if there is an Asian name that disappears in the 1940's.

[D&b antiques]

Ivory is cold to the touch. if you' were to rub a bar of soap. soapstone would have the same feel.

[regularjoe2]

Welcome to the forum , nattyboh ....

Although I've "learned my lesson 'bout guessin'" when it comes to 'Jade' items ...
I'd like to suggest you take your item to a local jeweler/dealer , and ask them if THEY think it's Jade , or something else .

It is double-tough to discern if an object is Jade (or whatever mat'l.) simply by seeing a picture of it (@ least it is for me) .

Knowing what the heck it's made of will help everybody here assist you in finding out more .

...but that's just one opinion .

[KC]

With the dimensions of the piece it could be ivory...but the striations in the piece resemble a natural stone.  Still am leaning towards soapstone....and Japanese or Chinese. However, if it was really old could be Japanese ( It is true that in Ca the Japanese were rounded up and put into camps due to the Pearl Harbor attack and they hid their prized items hoping to make it back and get them some day).

It is fairly easy to determine if it is soapstone.  Soapstone is a soft stone that is very easy to carve.  If you turn it over and take a hard metal object and try and make a small "scratch" in an inconspicuous area, soapstone will mark easily.  If it is jadeite or alabaster it won't.

It looks as if she is laying and contemplating....an d the man is the one tugging at her thoughts!   Her hair/style is going to play a role in deciding this.

A reclining woman isn't all that common here is one [urlhttp://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://pics.rubylane.com/graphics/shops/barkusfarm/452.1F.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.rubylane.com/shops/barkusfarm/ilist/,cs%3DCollectibles:Oriental,id%3D4.58.html&usg=__YUKLldksuyt_4ker3pagZBT50Jc=&h=88&w=106&sz=3&hl=en&start=20&sig2=3tfTMEW1AJbmTM725udANA&um=1&tbnid=CHt1ls5_MAKCkM:&tbnh=70&tbnw=84&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dchinese%2Breclining%2Bwoman%2Bfigurine%26ndsp%3D21%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26channel%3Ds%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&ei=lXJsSo30HI2CsgPI_LCXBQ[/url]

Have sent pics of it to Asian friends who specialize in artwork/interiors...hopefully will hear back from them.

[regularjoe2]

My hypothesis is that a naughty little child was playing with it ( and wasn't supposed to ) , got called in for supper & hid it in the forbidden zone of the crawl-space .

[KC]

Got a reply from one friend who is a specialist....and without touching it...they believe it to be Chinese and soapstone.

regularjoe's theory may be true....or it is an in-law gift that you had to hold on to and bring out when they visit - apparently they never visited

[nattyboh]

Thank you all for the input so far! Haha, yeah I could see how a child could have easily been the one to hide this there. When I found it there was just a small end of it sticking up out of the dirt (barely noticeable) way back in a corner that was awkward to get to...definitely a 'crawl' space. I plan on going to the local library to try and research the deed on the house and hopefully find out more.

[D&b antiques]

Well we all agree it's Asian. ( Chinese) I would suggest, it pre dates the 1850's.

[Skinny]

I have to agree with D&b about the age. I think it's quite old. It's definitely not ivory or jade. I'd put my money on soapstone.

[luxetveritas]

I agree with soapstone, but pre-1850s? If it is, then from what I've seen at auctions this sculpture could easily be worth a few hundred. It is really pre-1850's D&B? I'm not an expert at all, just interested.

[nattyboh]

Looks like most think it is soapstone. That's what I was leaning towards. Wow, pre-1850's makes this all the more interesting. What is the best way to find out the true value of an item like this?

[regularjoe2]

Great question , nattyboh ...

1. My first answer is : research , research & research some more .

2. If you need insurance/replacement value , ask your ins agent what they'd accept as verification of it's worth .

3. Professional appraisers will give you the info , for a price ( that may be more than what your item is worth) .

4. Consult with a local ( & friendly ) antique dealer for an informal opinion ( I like to find out what kind of 'treats' they like - espresso , cookies, etc. - and bring one with you / or buy a small item from them before you ask for an opinion) .

5. Plan an outing to San Francisco where shops specialize in items like yours (if you still live in Ca.) & refer to #4 .

6. Find a regional/local place that does a 'free appraisal' day sort of thing .

7. Put it up for sale yourself , with a 'reserve price' & see what happens .

Values of old , hand-made items vary alot & purchase prices remain subjective (in my opinion) ... a collecter of tools might sell a teacup set for $40.00 & a dealer might get $400.00 for the same item ( I think you know where I'm heading here) .
If you 'just' want to know to satisfy your own curiousity , that's a research stance that takes away alot of pressure to get the 'right' price in a hurry .
Given enough time , I think you can establish wholesale vs retail vs what-the-whacky-cat-lady-will-pay price ranges .

The bottom line that I see is that you've got an interesting story & a cool little carving to boot !