Featured Ground find from china

I bought this curious object in a curiosity shop. The owner thought it was made of glass. Or could it be amethyst?

 

Very cool interesting object. Is that not metal? The green areas not verdigris? I would think more photos are needed. How big is this? Heavy?

 

It may be based on this ...
https://www.researchgate.net/figure...an-It-was-suggested-that-those_fig2_349830580

This looks closer to your item ...
ebay.com/itm/167535317642

 

There appear to be quite a few, here is a begining.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/374964201930

https://www.ebay.com/itm/167535317642

https://www.ebay.com/itm/167473950237

https://www.ebay.com/itm/146319601547

 

Do you mean the metal Antimony or these guys ?
https://www.google.com/search?clien...SYEJZYQtKgLegQIFhAB&biw=1354&bih=637&dpr=1.36

 

those are the original at least some of them. it is a well known piece.

 

yes you are wright, already thought so. have you seen any purple ones?

 

see more on ebay

 

i will make more photos today and measurements

 

well the green stuff should be verdigree that was transfured from bronze items in the grave. But i mean the purple material underneath. glass or amethist but will examen my piece better.

 

it is for sure glass, and alot of rust and sand oxedization. I have discovered old chinese paper on the feet so i will get that translated so i can date the piece.

 

OMG I have never seen so many red flags.

Yes, one of the more recent wave of "antiquities" by Chinese fakers.
The use of amethyst Peking glass is a novel idea, and it should serve as a warning. Apparently someone in China read that antique glass can turn purple if it contains manganese. In the 19th century manganese was sometimes added to glass that contained iron to make it clear. Obviously Bronze Age ritual items were not made of Peking glass, and there were no manganese mines at the time.

Applied patination and ditto encrustation are the usual thing, usually glued to the item. This has been mentioned in several threads on Antiquers.

Chinese paper is usually added to fake antiques, not to fake archaeological finds, for obvious reasons. But I guess they produce so many fakes for eager Westerners, even the fakers get confused.

 

oke that's clear. can you put a date on it?

 

Yesterday.

 

wow the paint is still dripping of it. well it's clear i buy allot of sh****

 

Very informative. Thanks. There was a few things that makes one wonder but I must admit to me (just on face value) it’s a very cool and interesting looking thing (but that’s obviously the whole idea and game plan)

 

Still a cool decor piece then,if it is cheap enough. But the problem is I would have probably bought it even if it was not so cheap (anyway,other day=another lesson)

 

It certainly has decorative value.

Exactly.
Antiquities are always difficult, because it is a specialization, with many sub-specializations. And then there are the countless replicas and fakes, especially in China, Egypt, and the Middle East.

And we have to remember that many true antiquities were acquired illegally. Many items were stolen from archaeological sites or museums, and/or they fund wars and extremism, especially in the Middle East.
I would never recommend anyone to buy archaeological finds, because it is usually either unethical, or it supports the fakes industry.

And when it comes to China, it is illegal to export antiques and antiquities from China.

 

A very valid and worthy sentiment..

 

What kind of prison sentence would a Chinese National get for illegally trafficking in cultural artifacts ?
While not common,here's an item about a Chinese official executed for selling cultural artifacts-
'Beijing-11/19/2010-China- Friday executed an official for stealing and selling cultural relics protected by the state, reports Xinhua.
Li Haitao was the chief of the cultural relics protection authority of the imperial garden in the Hebei provincial capital of Chengde.
He was executed after China’s Supreme People’s Court approved the death penalty on a conviction of embezzlement, the Intermediate People’s Court of Chengde said.'