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Please help me identify what I have. I purchased this in Kunming China in 1998. I was immediately drawn to it due to its high relief. I believe it to be jade after seeing a less ornate piece, with the same color, at the Field Museum in Chicago.

Thanks, Rob

pictures please
Ernest

Sorry for not including the pictures in my original post.

Some more photos

Some more photos

Shoushan stone or soap stone, not jade. However this one is not very old from the mark on the reverse- 1990s

Thank you for figuring this out for me.

Rob

Dear Rob

It's a red marble made for tourists.

I have never seen teapot spout hole was made under nasal cavities of the dragon. It looks ugly to pour tea from the dragon's nose to your tea cup, just like dragon have running nose and then you drink it.

It's a sample of artistic and inconographic error.

Mouth is ok, but not from the nose.

Have fun
Anita Mui

There are two seal marks at the bottom of the tea pot. The one on the top (displayed horizontally, if displayed vertically and correctly, it would be on the right-hand side) has four Chinese characters on it, from right to left, from top to bottom, it says:

Éñɽʯ‰Ø (Shen Shan Shi Hu) (Sacred Mountain Stone Pot)

Sacred mountain can be Mt. Kunlun or any one of the five sacred mountains in China. See link below for more info:

http://www.sacredsites.com/asia/china/sacred_mountains.html

The smaller seal with three Chinese characters (on bottom horizontally or on left if dispalyed vertically) is:

ÈÉÉêÄê (Ren Shen Nian) ¨C 1992, 1932, 1872, 1812¡­.

This tea pot is apparently not made of jade because it says ¡°Shi¡± (stone) and not Óñ (yu) jade. Since the carving of this tea pot is actually quite nice, I was hoping it might be made in 1932 but I kept looking at its carving and tool marks and nothing indicates to me that this teapot was made prior to 1960s, therefore I believe it is indeed made modern and most probably in 1992. Also, the carving of the seal marks are quite bad and apparently with modern tools, it is almost like they were done by different carvers (than the one who carve the tea pot).

Of course, I can be wrong.

Bill

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