I have this figurine but don't know nothing about what is it made of. Is it ivory? Other animal bone? Is it Chinese or Japanese and if so, what would you call the figure? A warrior, king, etc. Certainly as I have absolutely no idea of what it is made of, what do you think its value is? Hope someone can help me. Thanks!
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It is nearly impossible to tell what material an item is from a photo. One can guess...but it is always best to have it seen in person.
My guess is you have a resin piece. Your guy looks a lot like this one:
www.ebay.com/
I noticed you have been posting a lot of oriental pieces lately. Are they all from one estate or storage locker lot? Just curious!
Knowing more about where pieces come from helps one play detective as to what they have and if there is any resale value in them, and what that value may be. It is not always accurate, but it gives clues--even if a piece cannot be fully identified by maker or age. That is often the only way many resellers use to help them figure a starting price for an item they are going to sell.
The other is to put something on eBay at 7 day auction and let the market dictate the value. I have been known to put an item on so I can make a small profit on my costs and then see what it fetches. The market dictates the value these day--value is only what someone will pay! If it doesn't sell at that low price--I often try it again with slightly different wording.
Are you planning on having Oriental/Asian pieces be your niche? If so, you may want to join one of the many Facebook groups that help people identify and learn more about this genre. One for example is Chinese Porcelain - Identification and Valuation
That is a tough market to learn because there was such a huge influx of this type of art coming into the US in the 1970s on and there were many "fakes" with people trying to sell new stuff as old by using old maker marks as their marks on new pieces.
Personally, it is a market I have avoided, but there are still people who love and collect and are very knowledgeable about these pieces. Where I am, the experts are few and far between...hopefully where you are you can befriend one who can help teach you the ins and outs!
I hope if you choose this as your niche, you will join us and teach us what you learn!!
Thanks for posting!
Storage locket , yes I have tons of Asian stuff some cool other not so much. Thanks for the advice !
Yes its the same piece you linked on eBay but in better condition. Thanks for the link, you clarified my doubt
Glad that helped. That is great that you do storage lockers! I used to buy boxed lots before storage lockers existed (would buy stuff from people's basements and garages) (or pick them up curbside on trash day) and sell them at the flea market!
It is rather difficult to distinguish from a photo what a figurine is made of. But the chance of finding figurine made of real ivory is quite slim, as it is the most commonly imitated material. You will hardly be able to distinguish imitation by weight, because people imitate with bone or even plastic, which can be weighted to feel like ivory.
Examine the surface under a magnifying lens: authentic ivory will have the pattern of intersecting arcs ("engine turning" / Schreger lines); bone will have porous cavity, small pits and short longitudinal striations manual.museum.wa.gov.au/
Pghgirl40 found for you a really very similar figurine. Although they have some differences in color and detail, they do have a lot of similarities. I think that your figurine is cast in a mold, as it seems to me that traces of air bubbles are visible in the photos of your figurine. Check it out to make sure your figurine is made of resin too, and not just a prototype for resin figurines.
A person cannot tell what an object is made of by looking at a picture. You can take it into any antique dealer
Really neat piece.
Did you post this one on Reddit?
If so, post back with information and value.
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