Aardvark Inuit carving or casting?

I grabbed this today and got quite excited, then it dawned on me that it could be a cast of an original. Not sure how to tell. The material can be scratched with metal but I guess any originals could be soapstone and therefore also softer than metal. The base is also rough in contrast to a smooth one I found on eBay. What do you reckon?

 

Definitely cast. You can tell by the way the name is in the mold and the bubbles seen on the bottom.

 

Okay thanks Brad. Gutted

 

Right. This is from one of the casting companies. I believe it is basically plaster, and likely also has a thin coat of resin for gloss and hardness; sometimes a thin coat of talc - powdered soapstone - was applied to bring out the details.

 

I had come to the conclusion that it was some sort of aggregate rather than resin as it feels pretty hard and cold to the touch. That said, the base can be marked with a metal implement.