Featured old box of carved jade ? piggies

hi all, found this today and couldnt resist buying it

some of the piggies have got marked silver collars

theres a few other oddbits as well(cat)

do you think it was once a necklace, there all different sizes

jade or something else ?

many thanks

 

They are so cute!
They look serpentine. I think they came from an old or even antique lucky pig or year of the pig necklace. Could you post a photo of one of the silver bands?

 

hi Aj, yeah they were too cute not to buy, it was £5 for the box, but couldn't resist

ill clean one of the silver collars and take a pic

 

Yep - serpentine for me too. Cute little guys, and at that price you couldn't miss! I think they want to be knotted onto some nice rattail cording.

 

Cute/nice find and buy!

 

They are Adorkable!!!!!!!!! Pure Cute!!!

 

The bands are silver, that's all I can say for now. My guess is the silver content is .800 or slightly over, so not legally recognized as silver in Britain.
I have seen the 'real silver' mark before, but where?
For a moment I thought the 'real silver' mark could be one of the Chinese Export Silver (CES) marks from the Republic Period, roughly first half of the 20th century, but it isn't in my research files. But I can imagine these on a Chinese silver necklace of the period. Silver bands around stone pendants are seen a lot in CES silver jewellery. The stone would typically be jade, carnelian, rosequartz, etc. These little lovelies are serpentine, which is not rated as highly, but you never know.

The almost half circular shape at the bottom of the box on photo 2 looks like a repro Zuni style bear bead. It is not true Zuni (Native American).

The piggies could have been made as beads in Asia and some made into silverbanded pendants somewhere else.
Maybe @DragonflyWink knows the mark?

 

thanks Aj

yeah i get the feeling that they were a work in progress too. especially with the uncut pieces of stone in the box.

i think the idea if them being pendants makes more sense

 

I've a hazy memory that Real Silver was used for stuff made in Hong Kong. Had some spoons from there.

 

You could be right, I have seen the mark before and my gut feeling places it in China proper, Hong Kong or Peranakan East Asia. The style isn't strictly Peranakan, Hong Kong could be it.

 

They might be Connemara Marble from Ireland. An "advanced search" of sold items on ebay, using the keywords "connemara pig charm" shows a similar one. Minus the "real silver" band:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ANTIQUE-Ed...673703?hash=item1ca74927e7:g:y3MAAOSwb9BayZv5

 

Can't recall seeing 'Real Silver' on any Asian silver, or for that matter, on any other silver either. Am bothered by the holes going through the sides rather than from top to bottom, seems odd for a necklace, though suppose it might work for an odd kind of bracelet. Believe those holes through the sides were more likely intended for a Stanhope viewer, and that Rocko23 is correct on their being Connemara marble (the Irish using 'Real Silver' wouldn't surprise me).

http://irishamerica.com/2015/01/the-things-they-carried/

Connemara marble pig charms: https://www.google.com/search?biw=1....0....0...1c.1.64.img..0.0.0....0.jaKAfPNxivI

Connemara marble Stanhope charms: https://www.google.com/search?q=con...--nbAhVQb60KHbAZA7EQ_AUICygC&biw=1396&bih=690

~Cheryl

 

Aha. I think Cheryl and rocko have it.

 

Perfect research, rocko. It says here Connemara marble is marble with serpentine, diopside, chlorite, calcite, and dolomite inclusions.
https://www.myirishjeweler.com/blog/what-is-connemara-marble

Thanks Cheryl.
Right, a Stanhope viewer, probably showing a scene from Ireland. Why they were taken out is anyone's guess.

You lucky guy, Charlie. You've got lucky pigs, lucky Connemara marble, and a £5 investment which could make nice money.

 

thanks for the info everybody. how would i have ever gotten that !!

how much luck would it bring, if i made them into one big necklace !!

 

i think if i hadn't had this info, i would have sold them all as 1 lot

but i think their probably worth doing individually now

and keep the little cat for myself !!

 

Yes, they are. And the little cat is lovely, I would also keep that, I think.

 

And one of the pigs for continued good luck

 

thanks for the great spot rocko,

yeah will defo keep a piggie or two

im surprised there wasnt a cat amongst the piggins joke !