Carved stone figures
7" x 3.5" x 0.5" Stone.
Owned by my brother. Currently behind glass in a frame. My brother was a bit credulous, so I would not be surprised to find this is a modern reproduction, but then again, I have no idea. Note the snout broken off the upper left. If a view of the back is important, I will remove it from the frame, but only if you believe there is a reasonable possibility it has any real value, as this would involved removing it from the backing to which it was evidently glued.
Inherited
Maybe
Dear Gary,
These amulets / figures are of recent date and made in China for export. This is mainly machine carved and then chemically processed to give it more round shapes so it appears used and antique. Part of the decoration is done by hand also. If you are in China you can buy these for equivalent of $0,50 a piece and the nicer one's for a little more. They used a hard stone, most of the time not jade because this is more expensive. Some of these stones are treated with color pigment to give them a nicer color. I do not believe they do that on your amulet. Original amulets are from mainly Han and Tang dynasty in China and can be very expensive. Yours is a large piece and nicely done therefor I believe it has some decorative value.
