Very Old 5 Piece Oriental Soapstone Carving--Good Luck Symbol?

Hand Carved Intricate Soapstone Oriental Art Work--7 Pieces in total!

Now here is something that's not often seen.  Purchased at a local auction in May, this 7 piece Oriental Soapstone carving is a truly beautiful sight to behold!  It is unsigned and in fact a bit of a mystery to me.  I've done several internet searches on soapstone carvings, and this particular one seems to be a bit of a rarity as the pieces are fully carved front and back to give it more of a 3-dimensional look.  I've showed it to a friend of mine who is from Asia, and he was very excited when he saw it, saying that it was supposed to be very very lucky.  He tells me it is a depiction of health, wisdom, and luck to you and your progeny.  I can't be 100% sure of that, but it certainly sounds good!  I will continue to research this piece throughout the upcoming months and post any additional information that I may find out about it.  Personally, I think it looks like a king, queen, bishop, and two pawns from a chess set...lol!

The set consists of 7 pieces in total, with overall grand total measurement being 9 3/4" tall at it's highest point by 7 3/4" at it's widest point.  It has a thickness of approx 2" deep.  All of the figures in this set appear to be male, including the white figure on the right which seems to be holding a baby or a small child.  In all three of the larger carvings in the back each figure appears to be sporting a very long beard. 

The centerpiece of the carving appears to be an Oriental Lord, or royalty of some kind.  He is positioned in the center of the base, and situated on a separate base to make him taller than the other figures in the set.  Including his secondary base he measures 8" tall by 2" wide.  He wears some sort of crown, which leads me to believe that he is a gentleman of some status. 

To the left of the centerpiece is the white figure previously mentioned holding the baby.  This figure also seems to be wearing some sort of crown or headpiece, indicating some sort of important person.  Again, this person seems to be sporting a beard, but with it holding a baby it may very well be a female.  I will let you, the viewer, judge this and come to your own conclusions.  He/She measures 5 1/2" tall by 1 3/4" wide.

The figure on the right carved fully out of the brown soapstone wears a rather pointed hat, which is what made me envision it as being a bishop from a chess set.  He has one hand cupped in the center of his belly holding some sort of bowl, or perhaps a unopened lotus blossom?  Perhaps he's even carrying some sort of food that I'm unaware of.  His other hand clutches a long staff which can be seen on his right side.  He measures 5 3/4" tall by 1 7/8" wide--just a little bit bigger than his counterpart.

The two figures on the lower shelf of the base appear to be almost identical.  Each figures has his/her hands clutched over his belly, holding some sort of dish, or animal, or something.  I think that they are to represent gifts of some sort.  Each wears some sort of rather plain head covering, rather than a hat or crown, but it's not very well defined on the carving.  These figures measure 3 1/2" tall by 1 1/4" wide.

Each of these figures rests on the previously mentioned soapstone base, and are fitted with with tiny dowels and holes to affix them.  The base itself measures 7 1/2" wide by 1 3/4" tall.  It's carving is such that it almost represents the figures standing on a stone shelf in a cave or something similar to that.

CONDITION:  Considering it's formidable age (I estimate it to be turn of the century or older) I would judge this piece to be in Very Good Condition.  It has a few flaws which need to be addressed, but nothing that effects the true beauty of these exquisite carvings.  The first problem exists with the dowels.  Small carved pegs (dowels) which fit into holes are what attach each individual figure to the main base.  Through time, some of these small pegs have disappeared, and two of the figures are missing one dowel.  The other three figures have all of their dowels, but there figure holding the baby's dowels are imbedded in the base rather than in the bottom of the figure itself where they should be.  Also, on the main figure, there are 4 sets of holes drilled in the bottom, which appears to have been an artist's error.  One of the holes was drilled too close to the edge of the stone, and a crack appeared part way up the back of the characters robe.  to repair this error, he seems to have drilled two much more stable holes in the bottom and used those instead of his originals.  The crack appears to be superficial and stable, and also seems to have been there since the piece was originally carved, so it does not effect the overall appearance of the set.

Price:  $185.00

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