Help with a Jade elephant i got when my father passed away

[digging440yrs]

My dad passed away not long ago, [ 83 yrs young ] and i'm going thru things. I was told by him that this elephant was his aunts, and she was a school teacher from around 1890 - 1930. He said that she went on many cruises in that time period, she passed away in 1951. My question is can anyone read the mark on the bottom of the elephant, its very heavy for its size and a very hard stone- cant scratch with a finger nail. , I was told it was jade and my great aunt may of got it on a cruise between 1890-1930. Any thoughts where it was made and the material are appreciated ----Tom------- ----

 

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[DCMatt]

I don't want to sound irreverent or disrespectful, but this thread really made me grin.

My dad is 83. He has always been a very subtle joker. I can totally see him giving this item to me and saying he got it from so-and-so, it came from here-or-there, it's made of such-and-such...

And I would thank him for it and put it in a special place. Then, at some later date, I would finally realize that he had given me the proverbial 'white elephant' and was probably still laughing about it.

And years later I would pass it on to my son with the same story...

 

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[Clay Diggins]

? ? ?

When trying to help... lets try to speak in facts when helping...

Lets start with your statement of Jade being "the toughest natural material on earth"... this statement is not only FAR from the truth... its not even close...

Jade is not even in the top ten in "tough" OR "hard"... don't believe ? - https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohs_scale_of_mineral_hardness

Different grades / types of jades have different types of properties... BOTH in hardness amongst other things.

FOR EXAMPLE... "Jadeite is very hard; it will scratch glass or even metal. Nephrite, however, can be softer, so performing a scratch test improperly may damage a genuine piece. If it scratches glass or steel, it could still be many of the alternatives to jade as well".

Celedon Jade which is what I think this item is scratches very easily.

Just trying to "set the record" straight before someone starts taking scissors to an expensive jade carving in an attempt to determine its validity.

IF anything... IF I am incorrect in my opinion of what this is made of... it would be soapstone... but doubt it.

OK I'll help you stick to the facts - I wrote that jade is the toughest natural substance known to man. I never even mentioned hardness. "Celadon" jade is just a name for a color of tremolite (nephrite jade). It is neither less hard nor less tough than other colors of tremolite. The color of jade makes no difference in how tough the mineral is.

There is no such thing as a jade that scratches easily. Thus my statement that the scratches on the bottom indicate that it is not jade. Soapstone on the other hand would be expected to show scratches on the bottom because it is neither tough nor hard.

 

[ARC]

OK I'll help you stick to the facts - I wrote that jade is the toughest natural substance known to man. I never even mentioned hardness. "Celadon" jade is just a name for a color of tremolite (nephrite jade). It is neither less hard nor less tough than other colors of tremolite. The color of jade makes no difference in how tough the mineral is.

There is no such thing as a jade that scratches easily. Thus my statement that the scratches on the bottom indicate that it is not jade. Soapstone on the other hand would be expected to show scratches on the bottom because it is neither tough nor hard.

"There is, strictly speaking, no such thing as jade. Rather there are two different kinds of jade -- jadeite and nephrite. They differ in chemical composition and crystal structure, as well as hardness.

The two varieties of jade also have different crystal structures. While jadeite's structure is an arrangement of grainy crystals, nephrite is made up of fibrous crystals that interlock in a matted texture. These densely packed and interwoven fibers are extremely resistant to fracturing. So while jadeite is the denser and harder jade, nephrite is actually the tougher of the two."

 

[ARC]

"jade is in fact two separate and quite distinct minerals: nephrite and jadeite.

Nephrite occurs mainly in white and gray "... which is what Dig has... IF in fact it is jade.

 

[ARC]

The best thing Dig could do if wanting to sell this item is to list on ebay as NOT 100% sure as to the stone but was told it was possibly jade.

The buyers / bidders know IF they should bid.

For the most part ... ebay jade buyers are savvy with knowledge and have the eye for what they bid on.

IF it gets bids... by multiple bidders... its jade.

IF it stagnates... then either possibly another stone OR not desired item.

Best shot ya got short of finding in EXPERT in jade.

Which I have YET to meet one.

heh

 

[Clay Diggins]

I know a little bit about tremolite, actinolite and jadeite. I've mined and carved each of them. I've also handled the sale of them at several major auction houses.

You can hit a piece of pure jade with a 16 pound steel hammer and it won't break, chip or even scratch. It just bounces off - that's tough. The toughest natural substance known to man.

No jade can be scratched by a pocketknife or scissors.
Tremolite (light colored nephrite) and actinolite (green and dark colored nephrite) have a hardness of 6 - 6.5
Jadeite has a hardness of 6.5 - 7
A steel knife or scissors has a hardness of 5.5

Seems like a simple test to see if a knife will scratch a stone. If the stone can be scratched by a knife then you know it's not jade. Simple test - easy answer.

Or you could hit it with a 16 pound steel hammer. Not a good test but it would give you the answer as well.

 

[ARC]

Beings countless pieces of jade have passed through my hands and seen in person over the years... I have an eye for it... but yet still am not unfooled from time to time.

Especially when looking at it... THROUGH A SCREEN.... heh

One thing is for sure ...

The Jade market is a creature all its own.

 

[ARC]

 

[ARC]

All of the traditional Chinese jade is nephrite, since there are large deposits of nephrite in China, but no jadeite. Jadeite first came to China from Burma in the 18th century. Before the introduction of jadeite, the Chinese tended to value translucent white nephrite. But the jadeite from Burma came in a wider range of colors, including green, lavender, yellow, black and white.The two varieties of jade also have different crystal structures.

 

[ARC]

 

[ARC]

Again... JAde,,, carving with carved stand combo.

This jJade resembles Onyx on first glance and would be dismissed as such... and has.

 

[ARC]

 

[ARC]

Digs piece need a good "spit and polish"

 

[digging440yrs]

I think I will give it a bath tomorrow-