Featured Oriental Soapstone(?) Dragon Box - Octagon

Hello, I have what I am calling a soapstone box. It is heavy and ornately carved. I believe it is hand carved due to the fact that around the base the same intricate dragon appears on each of the eight sides, but no side matches another exactly. It is about 5.5" in diameter. The dragon on top is very intricate as well. On each of the eight sides of the top a different image is carved into it. I thought it was a common piece until recently, when I found I cannot find a similar item online anywhere. I have a poor quality picture attached. If it helps, I can find another camera and take a few more. Though I have had it for a few years, today is the first time I looked at it in detail. I believe there is damage - it appears that the horns were broken off. I had always thought they were just made the way they are, but it appears that the "snubs" are missing the finish that the rest of the item has, so, I believe there was originally more material there.

I received this from my younger brother, who died tragically a few years ago. I believe he told me he got it from an elderly gentleman in southeast Asia (Thailand, possibly?).

 

Barry
Sorry to hear about your brother. My condolences. Must be difficult to handle this piece. Hopefully, someone can shed some light on it.
Kiko

 

Hello and welcome.
Think we will need some other pictures with a little better detail.
Please us "Full Image" when you post. Thank you

 

Thanks for the tip. I went ahead and found my old cellphone which doesn't have a cracked lens and took more pictures and marked as "Full Image" as you suggested!

 

Much better - Thank you.

You say it is heavy?
We might need a picture of the inside and bottom too please.

 

I think Chinese, but wait for others to confirm.

 

As to weight, i only have a scale that goes just over a pound and the piece is too heavy all together; the top weights about 15.5 ounces and I would guess the base is approaching 2 pounds. I have a few more pictures here; I also took a few others and will try to enhance their brightness and post them.

 

I'm not seeing soapstone. It almost looks lacquered. If you hold it to your face, is it cold?

 

I keep forgetting to say it is a very attractive box. I really like the dragon.

 

Relatively cold. I am definitely not sure what the material is - I am only guessing soapstone because it has a slight greasy feel.

 

Not that it is necessary, but just to restate, along the bottom the same image is on each panel, but each one is slightly different. The lines are not the same.

 

I wonder if it could be Bakelite ? or some early form of plastics?

 

I am not 100% sure I can rule out bakelite, but it is about 3 pounds as to its overall weight; the top weighs a few about half an ounce shy of a pound and the base is much heavier. Also, there is a lot of detail in layers; where you see the dragon's body - it is carved underneath what you see as well. So, I don't think it could be a piece that came out of a mold.

 

It may be soapstone or some other stone. Very hard to tell from the pictures. (Which you have done a nice job of. Thank you for adding them)

You might want to investigate some of these.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Soapstone+Covered+Box&FORM=HDRSC2

Be sure to come back and check for more replies tomorrow. People come and go at all hours here.

Sorry I wasn't able to help more.
It's a lovely box. As I said, I like the dragon.

 

I greatly appreciate the guidance and input. I'll check out the link. Have a good night.

 

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I just checked out the link you sent. After I scrolled through, I changed the search criteria to "lacquered stone octagon dragon box" - though my item did not appear, the texture on some that matched looks the same. The one that looked the closest is a museum piece from the Ming Dynasty. That'd be unique if it is close to that, to say the least!

 

Your box is not soapstone or lacquer, it is made of resin.

 

i hate to say it.....but from what I can see.... I've been thinking the same...

 

I agree, resin. I think it is pretending to be antique wood.
But it is lovely quality, and a gorgeous Chinese subject.

One of the tell-tale signs of resin is the unnatural staining, like you see on the inside of the box and the lid. Another is that it isn't stone cold.
The fact that it has no visible bubbles or blobs means it is well-made, so it is worth more than your run of the mill resin boxes. But not as much as hand carved boxes, of course.
The nicely detailed, raised head of the dragon is also good. It is something you rarely see in soapstone though, the stone is too brittle.