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This piece is 12.5cm by 7cm and 7mm thick.

Greyish green and brown in colour (my pictures are a little washed out) and with c scroll decoration on the body and possibly a Chicken head near the tail.

The style appears to be Warring States period and I think that there is a possibility that it could be genuine.

Some more images.

After a quick dip in water to bring the colours out a little.

The cotton was for s.g. test it weighs 107.4 grammes but the jug was too heavy when filled with water to get a further reading when submerged.

The material is shady IMO. The carvings seemed pretty rough and far from aesthetically pleasing. You can do a comparison with Warrring State pieces archived by reputable museums.

Some pieces tend to have the dragon head on one end or Phoenix on the other end. Looks like just a tail to me. I don't remember seeing dragon and chicken heads - again more accurate research would lead to this observation.

You will get different opinions...this should be checked by hand.
Which country do you live in?
Ernest

Hi Ernest,

I am in the U.K. and will have this and a few other pieces checked in the New Year.

I pretty much agree with whats been said, stylistically right for zhou dynasty (qin pieces are generally more slender) but the execuction seems a little crude and the aging looks off

Thank you for your thoughts.

The piece was collected by a member of the South East Asian ceramics society in the 1960-70s and is among a number of pieces that I purchased.

Al her porcelain and pottery was genuine and I felt there was a strong possibility that her Jade or other mineral pieces had a good chance of also being genuine.

Are you sure it was made of nephrite jade? It almost looks like xiu-yu to me which would be serpentine though it can still be one of the few authentic jade material used in the "making" of archaic Chinese jades. If it is nephrite, it is unlike those that were usually found on archaic Chinese nephrite jade. I am not that impressed by either the material or carving of this piece, especially its function which is kind of ambiguous based on its size and the quality of its material. Of course, since I am no jade expert and cannot examine it in person, I can be wrong.

Hi Super,all,

As I mentioned,unable to complete a specific gravity test but I will say thet among her pieces are a variety of colours and some including this piece may well turn out to be Serpentine or another hard stone.

The Chinese used a variety of minerals which they called Yu including various agates such as Moss Agate and Burmese Jadeite was not widely known or used until the 7-18th c.

The Nephrite and Jadeite western definition of the two true Jades did not then come into the equation.

I've attached 3 similar pieces and will hopefully have a definitive answer on all my pieces by the 20th January.

The first piece is in the Art Institute of Chicago,the 2nd and 3rd from the British Museum,all Zhou and all stated to be Nephrite.

The colour of my piece is dull and no great sheen as shown in the opening images.

The carving or abrasion is flawless and I've looked at 100s of real and even more fake pieces and this piece to me does not ring any alarm bells.

Still,a hands on appraisal by a Jade expert will be an invaluable lesson and I am going to ask many questions on each piece for as long as I am allowed to.

One piece is (if genuine) a Liangzhu Cong.

Regards,

Vic

Material looks like nephrite jade to me, but it won't cost you much to have it examined by a gemologist. It would be interesting to see other of your pieces and also to learn more about the provenance. Especially if they have appeared in a book, a magazine or an old dealers catalogue it will immidiately add credibility and value to your pieces.

Thanks Corey.

I will let you know the age of my piece next week.

British Museum Eastern Zhou

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