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Jade Chinese Dragon Sculptures, Fake or Real?
Chinese dragon sculptures are often done in jade but how do you know if it is real jade? One way is knowing the history of a piece, but with pieces that are less historic, and with jewelry, there are other problems you’ll want to be on the lookout for as well. First is whether your jade is actually jade, and second is whether it’s been treated to change its color or consistency.
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George Harlow, the curator of gems and minerals at the American Museum of Natural History, said that it’s easy for him to figure out whether or not a stone is jade just by its heft. (Real jade is heavier than jade imitations like quartz, glass and soapstone.) Another, albeit more invasive, test involves scratching a blade across the surface of the stone with as much force as you can; if it scratches, it’s not jade. But good luck convincing a dealer to let you try that one on a potential purchase.
As for alterations, art appraiser and dealer David Killen told us, “There’s just so much chicanery with jade, between the dyes and the impregnations, the radiation, the boiling. There are so many games to alter jade, to enhance the color, to rid it of its impurities, that you have to assume the overwhelming probability that a piece of jade has undergone some kind of process.”
Bottom line: if a jade carving costs less than $200, it’s probably not jade.
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Dragon History and Dragon Artwork
Dragons and dragon artwork appear in many different cultures. Its not known where dragons and dragon legends first originated from, but dragons where depicted on bronze and jade as early as 16th century BC in China. Dragons have been depicted on art all over Asia, Europe, South America and North America by Native Americans. All these cultures depicted dragons in similar manners and they appear on pottery, clothing, carvings, statues and weapons.
Dragons can be divided into two broad categories.
Eastern dragons, like those found in Asia are wise, revered and worshiped. Chinese dragons are shape shifters that can transform to human form. The dragon is considered to be lucky and brings one wealth. There are even stories of Marco Polo encountering dragons on his way to China. Though the dragon is often depicted as strong and fierce it is thought to be more benevolent.
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Western dragons, like those found in medieval times are more of the Celtic dragon variety. These are the typical fire breathing type and in most stories they are used to protect a great treasure upon which they must be slain in order to claim the treasure. This western image of the dragon makes it very difficult for North Americans to understand how the dragon is worshiped in Asian societies.
With the dragon being so colorful and majestic, they could only exist along side of art. One could not imagine a story of a dragon being told unless it was accompanied by some form of dragon artwork.