Featured Real or repo/fake ?

Not at all. Better than too few.

 

Does any of the encrustation come off when you wipe over it?

 

And something gold cos why not , more visible under light, just underneath the top crust but only found on the intact side
Hoping it can tell if its a natural process or something artificially aged.

 

Any, no. Tough like cement.

Crystalized if i was to use one word.

 

That usually means it is applied, not grown naturally over centuries.

 

Not really, calcium carbonate is literally marine cement.

Vinegar would dissolve it but i don't like drastic measures.

 

Marine encrustations are generally made up of several minerals depending on the soil and other conditions. And those colours suggest it is a mix of materials, including something that looks like copper oxidation.
You would have to have it tested to know if it is pure calcium carbonate and if so, why it has those colours.

 

Yup , prob copper oxide and the gold i think is pyrite, but its all imbedded in the main thing, prob carbonate but not sure.
Almost looking like salt crystals under strong light, but its not.
Only the copper is on top but still fused.

 

You could mail your photos to an archaeology department or museum, they are usually very helpful.

 

The problem with my photos is they are not clear enough, not at this scale.
Prob need to put the thing under a microscope and scrape a bit to do a chemical analysis.
Ill prob go to the local museum to see if they can take a look at it.
Not exactly a high value object , will prob donate it if it turns out to be real.

More an I need to know situation at this point )

 

What I found odd (and still do), is the fact that there is encrustation on the edges of the hole, but hardly any on the inside, even though it would have been exposed for as long as the edges.

 

Same. Its the one thing i don't like about it. Sadly i don't have a clue how it came out of the water and if someone attempted a cleaning. Seen a few originals ones latelly and for some reason they all seem to have spots where the incrustation didn't take hold.

On the pro side of things i like the incrustation consists of different minerals, less chance someone would think of that, instead of splashing some wet cement on it, like on the garden replicas.

Also the heavy duty feel of it. Thick walls if you're transporting expensive oils instead of paper thin walls like would be enough for a repo.
At least a cheap one.
And seems a lot of trouble to fake something like this.

Ill try to go to the museum and let you know what they say. Today i mean.

 

Went to the museum but didn't do much.
They just took a quick look at it, put it under a microscope for like 5 seconds and said its real.

Didn't even seem fazed by the clean spots on the inside.
Wanted to know the location where it was found but told them i have no clue.

In the end they wanted to keep it and I ended up donating it.

 

Vindication...but a sad ending.

 

Well,still was a hell of a good find (so well done) Thanks for the posting it has been an interesting discussion.Great to have a positive outcome.
Pity the museum staff wasn’t more engaging.

 

Good news, and very nice of you to donate it.

 

Ya did the right thing, and we're all happy to know that it was real.

 

One of the best things going to these random flea markets.
You never now what you'll find.

Same for this one.
Been looking for a good one for some time now and all I could find were worn out and used to death. The small ones i mean.
And out of the blue got this one in a bin of junk a few weeks ago. Doubt the seller knew what it is.
Is there a way to put a date on it ?
3 cm tall, about 47 gr.

 

My favourite sellers.
The weight is unusual, because according to the link (in Dutch) they are usually made according to the 'tical' weight system, and 1 tical is 16.3 gr.

https://www.deoriental.com/authentieke-opiumgewichten-hamsa-7422.html

Difficult to say, but less wear means less use.
On the last photo it ooks like the dark colour has worn away on the edge of the base, is that the same in real life? If so, that would suggest the darker colour was applied to the weight, which is also unusual.
My mother had a set of elephant-shaped opium weights, and those were coloured as well, with some wear to the outer layer. They were made in the mid 20th century, for trade/export rather than use. I'm not saying yours definitely is, but it could be, and many were already made for the colonial market during British rule.

More opium weights and an idea of prices:

https://www.deoriental.com/collectables/opium-gewichten/

 

It has a few hits and scratches with the normal metal color visible. A very dark brown.
Although the weight feels wrong for the volume.
Thinking its some sort of leaded bronze alloy.