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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;2manybooks, post: 392280, member: 8267&quot;]I agree with komokwa. The second looks like Inuit (&quot;Eskimo&quot;), usually carved from steatite (soapstone). The first one looks like it is trying to be Mesoamerican (Mexican or Guatemalan), in which case the stone may be steatite, serpentine or, less likely, nephrite (jade). All occur in shades of green that were sought after. Steatite is softest, serpentine next, and nephrite hardest, but without a hardness or density test it might be hard to distinguish between them. Do you have a college or university nearby with a geologist? I suspect the Mesoamerican piece was made for the tourist trade, in which case they would have chosen a softer stone, quick and easy to carve.</p><p><br /></p><p>Just for completeness sake, I should add that jadeite was also used in Mesoamerica. Jadeite and nephrite are slightly different in their mineralogy, but both are commonly referred to as jade.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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