Featured chinese ? boxwood ? carving

hi guys, something else i found yesterday

i showed it to a lady i know and she said oooo i just sold a load of these resin pieces !

im pretty sure its not resin, but paid a resin price, so no harm

shes very smooth and tactile so i dont know if that goes against her for being resin

6 1/2 inches (glued/fixed to base)

any thoughts appreciated

 

Looks like boxwood to me and she definitely has some age (Qing)- love the patina on the head; she has clearly been handled over the years. Wish I could find boxwood carvings at resin prices

 

I thought boxwood was pretty light on color. The dark areas around the nose and mouth - do you think they were dyed to give definition? Actually, I don't understand why the carver would dig those areas out in that way.

 

Good point, I know they can imitate grain and though boxwood darkens with age and handling, there are some anomalies with where the staining occurs on this piece.

You could always heat up a needle and see what happens...

 

thanks for the info mm

 

hi kiko

i see what your saying, there are certain aspects that make me think that way too

its not an easy one to tell

would be easier to tell if it wasnt stuck to the mount

 

I agree. Looking at the bottom would probably sort it out. I hope it's boxwood for you, but there are some incongruities that undermine that concept. I'm no expert, I usually can tell right away by weight, but boxwood is dense and heavy. Hopefully others will give a more knowledgeable assessment. Good Luck!

 

Boxwood carvings have been stained/dyed for many years.

 

i hate doing a needle test on anything so will leave that to a last resort

 

Kiko's right, boxwood is generally pretty weighty and resin is light. I guess it's hard to gage with the base stuck on..

 

again with the hot needle test ....
funny how it is so pervasive it keeps popping up here....

Charlie is right....

here is the only hot needle test that should ever be used........

 

im so blinkered that i only ever seem to smell, what i think i want to be smelling anyway

burn burn, yep definetly wood, 5 minutes later plastic fume headache

barbaric as well though for sure

 

Loved that movie, komo!

 

think i've seen it 6 times ( or more.? ) ........every few years it comes on......and i can't turn away........even from the gory parts..!!!

 

never seen it myself, will have to look out for it

the only thing that has ever really scared me is the old woman in the bath from the shining, still look away even today, just dont want that image in my subconscious

 

Zodiac is on tv tonight, fastly becoming one of my faves

wasnt that impresssed 1st time i watched it either

 

Resin can be just as dense/heavy as hardwood.

That being said...i don't see any obvious signs of this being resin. Very nice piece!

 

Try Night of the Triffids..........when yer just 5 years old....

 

You probably look at the younger one and just turn away right before she morphs into the decrepit old one!

 

i sometimes do linger too long on the first lady, its true

certainly doesnt help that the old lady is decomposing and giggling either