Asian Jade Fish ID

Looking for some help identifying the period and material. It appears to be well done and to my eye the material as well as weight points to jade. It also seems to be carved by hand based on the file markings. Measure 4” in length. Thanks for the help. Any thoughts appreciated.

 

Looks like a lid missing its bottom.

 

Welcome, Shunkpenn. I agree with wiscbirddog, looks like a lid & looks like molded resin:

 

I agree with the above.

 

I believe the base is carved for better presentation. The material seems to be too hard and heavy for resin. What’s the best way to determine jade vs resin?

 

In general, what you look for in rock versus man made materials are variations. Since rocks form naturally, they are not generally uniform in color having changes in tone or actual other colors. Also they don't easily follow patterns in color. Now that is not to say that all rocks are like this. For example, some variations are not visible to the naked eye like diamonds, sometimes you can only see inclusions by looking in a loupe. In this case, your fish are too uniform to be rock. The detail looks like it was poured into a mold. You'll get the hang of it. Also it is easier to help you if you use full image when uploading your files. Look around and find the full image button, please.

 

Jade is cold to the touch, much colder than anything cast in resin. I think this item is cast from resin, it just doesn’t look like jade.

 

Resin may show evidence of popped bubbles. Looks like holes.

If you look closely usually on the bottom, bubbles may look like this.

 

'Resin' as we're using it for a man made material, not the tree sap you would use on a violin bow or the toe of a pointe shoe, can be both very heavy & very hard. These photos are of a little lidded jar made of such resin; it is heavy & hard. It is also much warmer when you first take it in hand than stone would be:



Like your fish, it is meant to look like ivory, not jade, & you can see what look the signs of hand work & the 'rough hewn' interior. Completely molded, right down to the chips. KBE will probably tell us the mark says, Hah, hah. Bet you thought this was ivory.