Carved Smokey Quartz - Chinese? What IS IT? | ||
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Posted 10 years ago
ho2cultcha
(5051 items)
I have no idea what this carving is of. I see what looks like an octopus in it, and another friend swears he sees a dolphin in it. what do you think? are these common or what? what are they used for?
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2.5" high x 2.5" wide x 1.75" deep.
thank you idcloisonne. it's not a pendant, as it has a base. also, the first image is right-side-up, looking directly at the front of the object. it's way too big for a pendant. it's surprisingly thick and heavy and would pull anyone down after an hour or two. i do kind of see the chinese peach, or perhaps a persimmon [the 2nd photo shows the back which reminds me of the top of a persimmon.
In the second pic ( left side going down) Looks like a Frog or something (facing down on the outside) with a Rat-tail (or snake tail) hanging down in the middle.
COULD it be a mix-mash of all the Chinese Zodiac animals on it ?????
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/sites/default/files/images/chinese_zodiac_poster_460.jpg
that's a great idea idcloisonne! i just replaced all the photos w/ ones taken w/ a white background. i'm leaning towards persimmon or peach.
thanks idcloisonne! i think it's really cool too. i bought it from a homeless man selling stuff on the street the other day.
I can see a chinese coin (circle with a square/lozenge inside)
Found this interesting site for sympolism and puns in chinese culture:
http://primaltrek.com/impliedmeaning.html
It could be a hand cooler, or fondling stone, scholars liked to hold and feel :-)
wow! thank you kyratango. that link really got me thinking. it's some kind of fruit - possibly two kinds. it looks like a citron [buddha hand] which you can sort of see in the last pic. the other fruit still has me confounded. it's not a persimmon which would be more symmetrical. it might be a pear or it might be a mango. but why is it so much larger than the citron? or maybe the citron is some kind of exotic flower? the back side - circle w/ a stem in it could be either a persimmon, an apple, pear, or ?? thanks for the link! i'm really curious now. i looked at some modern quartz carvings yesterday, and it made me think this might be quite old. there's a lot of wear on the bottom and the edges - from holding it maybe? it does cool the palm down.
three fruits?
Glad to have helped, Ho2 :-)
this is a really good piece! i've convinced myself!
Congrat's!
thanks eye4beauty and kyroatango!