Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: lyndhurst44 on October 31, 2008, 03:46:11 PM
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Hi folks,
Take a look at this strange little green number that I picked up yesterday in a charity shop.
It is obviously oriental but is it glass? Well when it's held up to the sky the light shows dimly through.
The metal work is silver plated but much of the silver has gone.
The base shows part of a makers the rest having been polished away.
What's intriguing to me is the little subject of this piece which seems to be the metal impression of the skeleton of some small mammal, the same figure appears on reverse.
Do we have any Asian members who could possibly translate the remains of the makers mark please, or you may know what it the piece represents. :o
The piece measures 3.5" tall.
Happy Halloween!!
Bryn
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The best place I know for Japanese/Chinese makers marks is - http://www.gotheborg.com/marks/index_jap_marks.htm
How does it feel on the teeth? That's my only sure fire way of checking things sometimes. I cant explain the difference, but compare it against a piece of glass and a piece of porcelain (which is what it will be if not glass I should think)
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Hi Chloe,
I should have added that the mark is on the metal base. Unfortunately my teeth were purchased some years ago and not up to the task I'm afraid. Very good site though that will certainly be added to my favourites list.
I will take it on my bootsale hunt in the morning there are a few regular people I know there who might be able to help me with the translation.
Thanks for your help.
Bryn
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If the material is banded it might be natural - but not if it is a spiral.
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If the material is banded it might be natural - but not if it is a spiral.
The first 3 lines are banded and follow a wave pattern all the way around the top of the piece, the pattern can also be seen below the waist metal ring but a less well defined. The outside is smooth but the inside has a slightly rougher feel. So it could well have been made from a natural source.
Foolishly I chose to show the close up of the poorer side, the metal has more of a silver sheen on the reverse.
It also looks like as if the skelitor creature is wearing a crown.
Bryn
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could it represent an ant?
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could it represent an ant?
No, I dont' think so Martyn, it's got a tail. My leaning is towards an ex lizard of some kind.
Bryn
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hello!
have a look at this dish on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.de/Wunderschoene-Serpentin-Schale-mit-Metallbeschlag-11x5cm_W0QQitemZ330282497868QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item330282497868&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1229
(sorry, i can´t understand anne´s explanation of doing short url ::))
the metal around the rim is very similar to yours. description says
it´s from tibet. perhaps worth a research towards that direction?
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Thanks Dirk,
Yes, there are simularities with my piece so it might well come from Tibet. I note that it is listed under Antques rather than glass and I don't think there is any reference to glass in the listing either. It would be interesting to find out what they are made of.
My item weighs just 250gms.
Thanks again, :clap:
Bryn
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Serpentine...it's a type of stone.
Edit... serpentine is fairly soft, if you can find a discrete place try making a small scratch with a steel needle or sharp knife blade and it will leave a white(ish) line if it is serpentine.
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he´s selling these dishes regularly, which makes me think they are rather recent
and he´s kind of importing them from tibet. the serpentine vessel varies in colour.
perhaps you should consider to take your ´glas´ to a mineral store. there are other
possibilities than serpentine - from soapstone to jade... :-\
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Dirk,
This one has real age to it, the ware to the base mark shows it has been cleaned for many years.
Martyn,
I tried your test and it did leave a white line, but I also did the same to an old soapstone figure i had and that also left a similar line. In saying that I think it has been more or less proved now that it isn't made of glass.
Thanks for your efforts,
Bryn
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Could be horn, possibly yak's horn, as I recall reading somewhere that nothing was wasted when a yak was slaughtered.
Bernard C. 8)
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Bryn, you´re right - yours looks much older and much better elaborated.
just one further thought: could that skeleton thingy be a stylized animal
and a chinese letter at the same time?
don´t know, if there are any chinese letters that symmetrical.
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I'm sure this is a complete irrelevance but the animal decoration thing reminds me a little of the Nazca lines in Peru...
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I was thinking the same thing as Pip (and also thought it probably irrelevant, but it's interesting that it occurred to us both). Peru has a large Chinese population, too.
That's a strange looking rock, if that's what it is! It also occurred to me that the Chinese are pretty good at making fake rock. The "scratch test" does seem to rule out glass, but my dad has a quite realistic piece of "amber" made out of some kind of epoxy resin or something.
Interesting that the green seems to bulge out a little around the middle horizontal metal band, similar to the way blown glass bulges out around a metal frame.
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Base mark reads 'Long Zhi' (thanks to my OH, Zhang Jie), probably a part 'Qianlong Nian Zhi' seal mark (meaning Qianlong period made) but this is looks to be a twentieth century piece. The stylised animal/ skeleton design could be a Character but if so it is in an archaic style and neither of us recognise it.
Steven
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Hi,
Sorry for the delay in replying, i was away from home for most of yesterday and did not get the usual email reminder.
Thanks for all your suggestions, especially the translation. I spoke to my antique dealer friend who discribed it as being fronm the late nineteenth/ early twentieth century, Chinese, and probably made frome Jadeite.
Bryn.
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I'm sorry, this thing is kind of nagging at me. I'm not quite convinced this is jadeite, or any kind of stone. How hard was it to scratch, and what did you use? Jadeite's pretty hard. And the banding seems pretty funky.
If you have a chance, could you show a photo of the inside, facing toward the little guy on the front (so you see the back of that area)?
A big part of the reason I'm suspicious is that the Chinese make so much fake old stuff. I mean, it says it's from the Qianlong Dynasty! And they make tons of "Tibetan" stuff. Like here's (http://cgi.ebay.com/Tibet-Vintage-Eight-Immortals-Bronze-Flagon-Wine-Pot_W0QQitemZ170275293039QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item170275293039&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14) a "Tibetan" bronze urn that I bet you anything was made in China within the last five years. Same seller has a bunch of silver and jade stuff, and I really highly doubt it's jade.
The serpentine bowl from German ebay - that's a huge chunk of very uniformly colored serpentine - not! I don't believe it for a second.
I'm into rocks, you see, so this thing has me pretty curious.
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Hi Kristi,
I'll get a photo done for you in te morning. I just returned from the hospital having where I enjoyed an injecion in my only good eye!!! having suffered a nasty old infection.Those doctors really know how to make you feel worse!!Not recommended.
I used an old needle to scratch the inner surface of the goblet? but the antique guy took a scissers point to it and it left a fair old white mark, which completely disappeared when he wiped it with a damp cloth.
The little guy appears on both sides of item, in fact the other side still he retains a bit of a silver shine.
The base really looks as if it has been over rubbed, but it does seem strange why that area is had the treatment because it would have been out of sight anyway.
Anyway I will get back to you in the morning. Please excuse any bad grammer as my vision is not too good hopefully it will be better tomorrow.
Cheers,
Bryn
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I'm so sorry to hear about your eye! How scary when things go wrong with your vision. The needle sounds like a nightmare!
I can't see the whole bottom, so I'm not sure what you mean about the wear on it. It looks like there are a bunch of parallel lines (scratches) on it - that could be from polishing it after it comes out of the mold, I suppose. The bits of darkened areas on the front look like they're soldering marks to me. The other side was silver plated? I don't see any sign of that on this guy.
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Good Morning Krosei.
I just reas your message with the aid oh a stromg Magnifier/ My wife had to put ointment into eye last night and my vision is very blurred. i hupe it will clear later and can get those other photo,s to you.
cheers Bryn.
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Here are the photo's Kristy,they are gding to be poor but i think i.'ve got the theme this time, the base has been polished thin to the centre.
Here goes.
Bryn
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Oh, dear...now I feel bad that you've strained you eye on my account! :-[ I meant to tell you not to last night and forgot. I hope it gets better soon. :)
Thank you very much for humoring me with the extra images! I don't know - so hard to tell things from photos sometimes. I think I should just swallow my suspicions and trust your judgement since you're able to handle it and see it first-hand. The second little guy seems to be of an entirely different metal, unless I'm not seeing it right. Very interesting piece.