Posted 12 years ago
papa
(184 items)
Got a couple more stone carvings this weekend. This one is Quan Yin the goddess of compassion and mercy. She is the feminine Buddha. The stone is a lapis lazuli stone; a relatively rare semi-precious stone. The carving is just over 9 inches tall. She has one flaw in the center of her back where a guy at the auction took out his pocket knife and chipped the sculpture to see if it was real stone or glass. Guessing he was looking for a glass one because he never did bid on the item?
Some people scratch stone carvings with pocket knives thinking the scratch will prove the item is not real jade? Obviously this is not a jade and is Lapis lazuli, a relatively rare semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense blue color. The scratch test became popular with the internet and was one of many tests done by expert geologists to check gemstone quality; now everyone seems to think it is the only way to see if a carving is jade or stone. These new under educated experts even scratch coral, ivory and mother of pearl with pocket knives claiming their checking to see if it is real or fake? Seen a guy scratching away on a faux whale tooth scrimshaw at a foreclosure moving auction a couple weeks ago, then he went around telling everyone it was a reproduction. The last authentic whale tooth scrimshaw I saw sold at Christie's at $42,000.00 and some buyers need an intelligence test, not a scratch test.
She is a large carving, but the rose quartz one I listed is much larger.
who on earth stabs lady budha in the back????? that was definitively not an art lover shame on him!! a very unconsious deed luckily for us she is save now thanks for saving this goddess of compassion and mercy bless you!!