Featured Mottled green stone elephant - from where, and made of?

I snatched this off ebay a few minutes after it was listed. Listed as "marble elephant". Well...its not marble looks kinda like "spinach jade" or some variety of dark nephrite jade(to me). I've attempted a few small scratch tests on the bottom of the feet with a needle, and with an agate(quartz) and havent been able to produce a scratch using firm pressure.

Tried to measure its specific gravity/density using the submersion method. Proved difficult given its size and weight but I'm fairly confident it falls in the 3.0-3.2 range. This seems consistent with nephrite jade as far as I know. I could be slightly off either way on that measurement.

Seems like a pretty well done modern-ish jade carving to me.

He's 8 inches (20cm) long from trunk to tail.

Oh one other thing, he definitely has a thin sheen of wax which I think is a somewhat regular practice for jade items as well.

Opinions on if I'm off base thinking it could be jade? Maybe jasper or some other quartz?(I don't think so based on the density...)

Also, where might he have been carved?

Thanks for looking!

 

Try the scratch test again using pressure with a Stanley knife or Olfa Cutter point and see if you can scratch it with either of those.

 

I happen to have a Stanley ...and was able to scratch it with hard pressure with the point of it. Not sure how a stanley blade rates on mohs scale, I think steels can vary widely... nephrite starts at mohs 6.0, so not sure what it means at this point?

 

Here is a simplified chart of relative hardness..... https://www.gemselect.com/english/gem-info/gem-hardness-info.php

 

Yeah, which, depending on the steel itself, steel can overlap into nephrite hardness range.

 

4th pic from the bottom.......top of the elephants leg.....

funny what you see in photo's...........................or clouds !!!




side view of a man with long hair......?

 

https://christiantoday.com/article/man-trying-to-sell-his-jesus-toast-on-ebay-for-25k/105294.htm

 

And maybe a couple of #s? 1, 8, 4 and a small buffalo sideways above the left eye?

 

Is it translucent in thin parts? Nephrite should IMO.
I don't see jade here, even if it seems hard from your tests.
He is nicely carved, Asian elephant, maybe India made with a local stone!

 

Helpful chart. I have taken a screen shot!

 

Very slightly translucent in a few of the thin parts...most of it is pretty thick though.

 

Once you see it...

 

carrying a live duck home for dinner?

Once you see it...

 

Yes indeed I see a piece of toast

 

Sorry @aaroncab, after that scratch test I'm with @kyratango, not like any nephrite I own - doesn't really look mottled to that extent and can't be scratched with a Stanley knife blade.

 

Thanks @blooey and @kyratango - I'll keep trying for an ID on this stone - I'll take your opinions as likely not nephrite, at least not of any variety that one would usually see. It's density throws me off of other likely suspects though (such as serpentine and others).

 

It is Hollies singer Allan Clarke. Never been a fan myself, but I must say, he looks great on an elephant leg.

Amazing, so do I!

 

I wonder if it could be some kind of marble?

 

Not likely according to the density...also i do believe its at least harder than marble. But...clearly I don't know what it is...so...who knows

 

Thinking saussurite, It has a density of 3300 kg m-3 and a hardness of 6.5. 72 I GEOLOGY TODAY March- April 1993 Page 2 type known as saussurite, resulting from the alteration of plagioclase in basic igneous rocks, is a mixture of albite and zoisite and/or clinozoisite.