Featured Anyone know what this is made of? Soapstone?

sorry for sideways. What a pain! It feels cold to the touch and is heavy or dense I have a piece I know is soapstone but I am unsure on this piece. Any ideas on age, origin or the marks on the bottom?
Ty for any help!

 

when ever i see these caramel colored pieces that have area's worn away to a cream color........ resin mold....

 

I'd think resin.

 

Thritto - Resin. One thing I look for are carving marks. Especially where there is a small area that is hard to polish or on the back.

 

The irregularities on the bottom suggest a natural material rather than resin, although I suppose a mold might have been made off of an original soapstone carving. But I think that would be a difficult piece to mold in resin, with all of the undercuts/open spaces beneath the animals. Do you see any bubbles anywhere on it?

It seems to be a popular theme in Chinese soapstone carvings:
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/71207363_lot-of-2-chinese-soapstone-carvings

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/en-gb/item/75832395_chinese-carved-soapstone-goats-on-wood-stand

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/55183596_chinese-soapstone-carving-of-three-goats

https://avaluer.org/explore/2313389...pstone_carving_of_a_goat_and_two_kids_on_base

 

It would be a very difficult casting. Check on the insides of the animals legs and underbellies for any seam marks.

 

but not a diificult mold.......resin netsukes are done like this all the time.

 

I’ve cast standing dogs and horses using a silicone mould and outer casing and it really isn’t easy.

 

OK...so not easy then............but not unheard of !!

 

I don't know, I'd have guessed resin from looking at the top but not so sure about the bottom. I found this one with a similar base though don't know it is. They say stone but people say lots of things.

In addition to resin there are other combination materials such as alabastrite.

https://imgur.com/gallery/3gWIop5

 

I would put the sculpture in a room with a bit of something you know for sure is stone leave for half an hour and then see how cold it is compared to the known stone.
I will pick up an item say in a Charity shop and if it’s warmish/room temperature then I really know it is resin. Then I put it back on the shelf.

 

I would think the Chinese might be better at this than myself

 

It is really heavy and cold.

 

well, maybe it's real stone and the heads and ground are wiped clean of the stain used to darken the piece......WDIK..

 

I was just wondering if resin is cold and heavy. When I think of resin I didn’t think it would be cold. I have no clue

 

heavy, yes......cold...not so much if you hold it for a while.....it should take the heat from your hand............

unless... you have cold hands !!

 

I don’t have that issue! Lol