Old Chinese Royal Seal

If I may piggyback onto this thread... I'd like to figure out what this vessel is made of. It's a reproduction of a 17th century carved ivory beaker.

Clearly it looks like it was molded. I tried using the hot needle test, but it didn't penetrate the bottom at all. If stone is mixed with resin, should a hot needle be able to penetrate the surface? If it's not a stone/resin mix, what else might it be made of?





In case anyone's interested, this is most likely the beautiful 17th century piece it was based on, depicting the myth of Atalanta and Meleager...

 

Another thing I'd try on the "royal seal" is dripping or brushing acetone on a small area and see if it dissolves, softens, etc. Real stone shouldn't be changed by a little acetone but faux stone might be due to epoxy or glue-like binders that were mixed in.

 

Here's some info on seals . While the bulk of it doesn't apply to OP's seal, the comments at the end regarding authenticity of stone seals are worth your time.

http://babelstone.blogspot.com/2008/01/caveat-emptor-buyers-guide-to-seals.html

If you are one of the linkophobes, this expert's opinion is that seals with brass/bronze imprinting surface may be authentic, but those with an official title and stone character-marking surfaces are not.

I had no idea.

 

Pat,

Your piece looks like Hydrocal or some other similar casting medium. It is a lot like plaster but is harder and shows details better. It is somewhat porous so will actually take stains that can be used to make it look like old stone.

 

I was thinking Hydostone.

 

Brad, thanks so much. If I list this piece, now I'll know what to say about it.

The color was more yellow before I cleaned it, which I thought was from being exposed to smoke for years. After what you said, I'm now wondering if it was intentionally yellowed to look more like the original ivory piece. I didn't see a picture of the original until after I cleaned it.

Oh, well, I guess I have to be more careful about what I clean!

 

Thanks, Komo.

According to wikipedia, Hydostone and Hydrocal are similar materials.

 

You're right....it's just the term I'm more familiar with.

 

I'm wondering how reproduction items like mine and the OP's (assuming it's a repro) are usually produced.

Do manufacturers pay big bucks to buy an original that their designer uses as a model? Or does the designer look at items in a museum and copy the details down to reproduce later?

It seems like photos of all sides aren't usually available, so I think a faithful repro wouldn't be do-able without seeing the item in person.

I can't even find another instance of my repro, even though I know the keywords to use for the myth it's based on. That makes me think it was a small production run, possibly for a museum shop. So how could a manufacturer even put much time, money, or cost into it and still have it be profitable?

 

I would venture that a mold could be made from the original.....for monetary consideration.

Here , museums do this to sell repro's of totem poles and slate carvings.

 

Ah, I didn't think of the possibility of a museum working with a company that makes reproductions. That makes sense...

 

Thanks for great help, now I know what the word mean & also know the one I have a copy.
cheera

 

You right , it is a copy one

 

you definite right, I feel the same , it is copy & make by mixture of real stone & some thing like cement.

Thanks

 

Thank all, I got answer from a great help from your guys, nice & helpful.
Cheers