Posted 14 years ago
papa
(184 items)
My question today is what kind of Gemstone are these two Chinese foo dogs carved from? Our local jewelry store geologist said they are not amethyst, they are not enhanced with dyes, but would not guess as to what they might be. Claimed he does not guess because he might be wrong. Said they are definitely not amethyst or quarts? Got any guessing gemologists on this site?
Your Foo Dog Lions are exceptionally charming.
Thanks; real heavy stones too. Not sure what stone is a blue lavender colour but they are hardstone. Most newer carvings are that shoushan stone, a real soft soapstone and a lot of molded glass seems to be on the eBay market as hetian jade, hard to find real rocks anymore.
Thanks ThriftStoreAddict, Mcgarrett50. Still no guesses on stone?
Hmmmm very intriquing. Especially because of the blue colour. I am going to have a look about and see what I can come up with. A form of lapis?
They appear to be a blue Chalcedony, possibly dyed.
No dye in them, just blueish purple, thinking amethyst
I would bet the farm it is lavander jade...very rare pieces. Hold onto them and of you sell be hard nosed on the price. They don't make many like this anymore
Definitely not agalmatolite. The level of the carving would tell more. I am very familiar with agalmatolite and it is much more opaque than this pair. On the other hand I have seen glass carved to very resemble jade.