I don't want to talk details if I can help it, but it would be fair to say my living situation is unique. Although I own my own property, for the past several years I've been house-sitting for the family of a silent-movie star (whose name is ubiquitous enough it doesn't need repeating here). The house has a small share of antiquities and not least among them is the piece pictured below. 42 cm high not including the base (and with Speedy Reduced for scale). It appears to be a single piece of jade (to my untrained eye). Anyone care to cast a cold eye? Origins, age, value etc. I've always been curious, but know absolutely nothing about it.
I swear I've heard this story before... I can't speak to the piece too much, Asian art is not my specialty, but the quality of the carving makes me think it was perhaps picked up as a tourist piece while on a trip, rather than being a true centuries-old antique. That doesn't mean it doesn't have value, as they are still collectable. I'm also dying to know more about this situation. lol
Only thing I'll say about this place is it doesn't have a pool Thanks for the feedback on the piece. What you're saying makes sense.
Wow! What a find! That appears to be one of the rare opalescent jade pieces by the Japanese master Okoro Sejei. They look a bit crude due the nature of the OJ: It is notoriously difficult carve. While his green jade pieces are know for the exquisite detail, the OJ statuettes are noted for the sweeping lines and windswept clothing. Like this one, all of the known OJ pieces are Geishas. They were commissioned by Emperor Ninko circa 1840. Not sure where your are located, but these pieces are not usually seen outside of Japan. They have not been legal to export since 1920. Just kidding. I have no idea. It is however, pretty cool. My mother would love it.
I used to live up the street from the original Sunset Blvd. house (razed in 1957 to make room for a bank) and near the Whatever Happened to Baby Jane house and a few other classic locations. The whole neighborhood is historic and full of Hollywood history. You don't have to comment, but are you staying in Hancock Park?
No sir. I'm in Dublin, Ireland. Not much call for a pool round these parts Watched 'Whatever Happened To Baby Jane' not a month ago as it happens. Great, great film.
Is it real jade. I know this sounds weird but one way to test it is to lick it. Jade should be very cool. Most jade is very strong and won’t be scratched by a key. Of course it’s not yours so I don’t imagine you want to take a chance scratching it, plus serpentine jade can be soft and scratch. When I was in China I spent some time with some jade buyers and they even use a piece of hair and a lighter to check the quality of the jade. If it’s real jade, like quality jade it may be something interesting. If it’s just a novelty item it probably isn’t real jade. Look online for some basic tests that won’t leave a trace. I really started appreciating jade when I spent a month in China and the work they do with it is amazing. We have a tea set made of a high quality jade then some trinkets which I still like but they are nothing special. The history of jade is fascinating and I saw a few Buddha statues made of jade dating back thousands of years.
Ok. I've licked the statue, what next? Joking. I'll have a look around and see if there is a non abrasive test. Janice, Marty was a mime - which is not what I had in mind when I said silent movie star
The lick test is true of course if you haven’t licked much jade I guess it wouldn’t mean much. I’m merely relating what the old timers in China do it was really fun hanging out with them people handing things each other to lick actually happened in front of me, I found it interesting but very funny I made sure not to laugh as they were making serious deals and me being an American who am I to judge how they handle their transactions
You know I really wanted to warn the guys about how easily things like hepatitis are to get but again I’m sure they wouldn’t appreciate some American who knows nothing about jade telling them anything plus my Chinese is so poor I probably would have told them to stop kissing the scuba gear or some other weird thing
