Antique soapstone jug

bogwalrus

Hi all, I'd love to know more information on the worth of a possibly chinese soapstone jug i own.

I have been googling for weeks and cant find anything like it (probably a good thing)

Its supposed to be a soapstone jug from between 1200-1500 century, Before Ming Dynasty.

My questions are;

>Is there anyway to prove that it is actually that old
>what would its worth be if i was to try and sell it and also where is the best place. Would it be worth going into an auction house with it??


Any help would be great

ill post up some pics soon when i get my camera back.

Wild_Dogger

Never heard of soapstone being used in the Yuan dynasty .

Prob 19th century (typical for soapatone),but maybe pre-ming jade !!:eek:

look forward to a picture of this one , got my fingers crossed for you

bogwalrus

here are a few images:


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Wild_Dogger

If it were bronze , I would be more convinced as its a Shang/Shou style .

Its very interesting , and Im not able to say for sure whether its early or not .

But I think you should send a photo to christies / sotheby's / bonhams in london and see what they say .
Peace of mind !

valuations are free , and if you dont hear back from them then its not of any interest to them !

Best of luck

bogwalrus

ill send some pictures on, sure if its free why not=).

Thanks for the help.

Wild_Dogger

Yep , well dont forget to let us know how you got on !
I'd like to know what they think .

Its a libation cup , used in ceremony .
Usually 17th / 18th century vessels , but I dont know about soapstone examples .
Also the foot looks like its carved to fit a wooden stand , just makes me think it is late 19th c .

asaph.hyman@bonhams.com is somebody I have sold with before , without problems .
http://www.bonhams.com/eur/asianchinese/

http://www.sothebys.com/app/live/dept/DepartmentSpecialists.jsp?dept_id=35
and
http://www.woolleyandwallis.co.uk/departments/asianart/ aswell

Wild_Dogger

How heavy is it ? a solid dead weight or light in the hand ?

cold or warm to the touch ?
its got me interested now ..lol

bogwalrus

thanks very much for recognising it as a libation cup. i searched in into google and found loads of examples.

Ill let you know what information i get off the people i emailed. i dont really fancy holding on to it so some1 who is a fan of these things might enjoy it better.

thanks again for help.:D

Wild_Dogger

bump my last questions ! since your online

bogwalrus

heavy and cold. cold cause its in the kitchen and freezing in there. it is very very soft though. I was looking up on net and noticed jade and some very old jade is orange similar to this. I do however think you might be right about late 19th. Some of the "Rhino Horn" ones go for a pretty pennt. saw one there for 56k...WOW!

Wild_Dogger

Yep , rhino horn making massive massive money .....
a whole different league of material to the soapstone !

And with the current Chinese market boom , you can say goodbye to the existance of the wild Rhino .
The smuggling is deep rooted in africa , and Nature reserves now electronically tag every single rhino , each to be tracked daily .
Thats how valuable the rhino horn is right now .
Loopholes allow the trade of 'worked' rhino horn , and adds to the price .

But I was wondering if it could possibly be jade ! heavy and cold to the touch .
The rim chips say soapstone , but yes there is jade which mottles to look just like the colour of your cup .

Best of luck !

bogwalrus

Well it turns out its a rock similar to soapstone. I'm told that its definitely not Jade anyway. It is however old and possibly around ming dynasty just a piece that has lasted over the years and has not completely fallen to bits.

I still have no idea of its worth though cause there is nothing like it i can compare it to. oh well.