Featured Is anyone familiar with this type of material or craftsmanship?

I would really love to identify what material this is made from. It seems too heavy to be wood or clay and too delicate to be bronze. It's 33" tall.

 

Hello and welcome to the forum! To really help you, we'll need closeup photos of the bottom and some other areas showing detail. If there are any makers marks, clear closeups of those can help a great deal. It is an impressive piece!

Linda

 

Hi Illuminated and welcome.

You may get more eyes on this if you use some descriptive words in the title to attract the right boardies. Maybe something like "Asian carved wood statue help"?

You may be able to edit the title of this thread, look for an edit button at the bottom of your original message

 

Beautiful statue, and welcome.
It is Guanyin, the Chinese Buddha aspect or divinity of mercy and compassion.
Guanyin is represented in many different ways, one of them is with multiple Buddha or Bodhisattva (Buddha aspect) heads. As such Guanyin is more important than any other divine beings.

Your Guanyin isn't old, probably made in this century, but very elegant.
Is it possible to put the statue on its back very carefully, so you can take a photo of the base? That way we can get an idea of the material. I suspect it is metal, possibly brass with a coppery finish. Although it looks like chocolate.

 

Agree! Do in future put something in your title indicative of the item you are inquiring about.

One can (also?) edit the title of a thread using "Thread Tools" at the top right of the initial post. But editing options are only available for a certain length of time after posting.

 

Hi Any, while your in a knowledgeable mood, I bought this box mainly for parts but I'm going to take this top panel off to make a wall hanging with a frame. Doe's it have a story (god) or any other significance behind it?

 

lucky guy , being washed by all those virgins and being anointed with sweet smelling oils !!!

I understand what you want to do to the box lid..... but will it not lose part of it's history by parting it from the base ??/

 

Ideally I would restore the box but it's just too far gone, once the sadeli (micro mosaics) go it's beyond repair. It was an easy decision to buy the box 1) the hinges, lock, feet and other parts were all in good nick but the greatest reason for buying was the fantastic Mysore carved panel on top. This was a large box (10x7x4.4in) so the panel would be quite large as well making it a good candidate for a wall hanging. I wont try and make it look like an original antique, I'll put a note on the back saying it was taken off a box lid. It has been a challenge though, the panel is badly warped and won't sit flat, I've tried using steam and gentle pressure and got it to sit flat to glue it to a board but came back the next day to a split and then the glue failed and it started to curl up like a Pringle. I've got it gluing again and this time I'm going to leave it for a week and hope it holds this time.

 

a few weeks........ as it took decades to warp ... it'll take time to relax ! imo

and ya....... a great buy for repair material !!!!

 

I'm sure it does, but it isn't one I am familiar with. The central figure doesn't look like a God to me.
Rubbing with oils could be Ayurvedic, but it could also be preparing a king for his investiture. The different costumes could be a reference to Mysore's fame as a city of many religions.
I think you'll have to delve into the local history of Mysore to find out what the scene is about.

 

Thank you, if you don't know of any meaning behind it then I'm sure there isn't one or at least one I should know.
The listing didn't have a good photo of the carving but it's a real cracker, I was hoping to get that sort of washing system installed in my bathroom but I'm not sure the wife will agree

 

It'd be costly too, you'd have to house and feed them all.

 

Thank you! The bottom has felt covering. I'm not sure it should be removed? It does look like chocolate

 

It may have been added by a previous owner, but best leave it on.
When you click on the surface, for instance with a ring, does it sound hollow, and/or like metal?

 

It does sound metallic, but one of the tiny fingers broke and it seems that metal would not allow that to have happened. Here is a pic of the broken finger inside.

 

That looks like it could be some sort of pressed/molded wood. If so, it is not something I know a lot about, so I'll tag a few other members for you:

@2manybooks
@verybrad
@mirana
@komokwa
@moreotherstuff

 

Sounds like metal? I'm going to guess a metal and resin composite. I have one and it definitely sounds like metal when tapped or moved, but presents like resin.

It looked molded to me before but the one picture isn't enough to judge much. There's also an area of loss in the fabric of the finger photo which seems either from the molding process, or it can happen if the shell is a thin metal, filled with another material.

 

Some kind of molded composite. Maybe something similar to Syroco, which is a molded wood/sawdust material. This would not fit well with it sounding like metal when tapped so I don't really know.

 

Wives.....!!!

 

I can say it's not carved , but the material eludes me , at present !