ID Little Bottle

[flozeh1]

I found this little bottle looks like a vase maybe a sunff ?  hand carved  ,   bottom has  # 54  and can you ID what  it is made of . Thanks for looking 

[flozeh1]

the picture turned sideways at posting

[pixzee]

I think it was intended as a miniature vase, snuff bottles don't typically have arms.

Are the arms attached or part of the carving.

I can't identify the stone, there is some nephrite in this color range. Possibly a black quartz/quartzite (it it's hard). There is alsl a black soapstone (soft, scratchable).

The idea of this type of collectible, like polished eggs, is to display different minerals.

[flozeh1]

THE BOTTLE IS 3 OZ ARMS ARE PART OF CARVING NOT APPLIED THE BOTTOM CAN BE SCRATCHED AND THE # 34 . mAY BE SOAP STONE ? LOOKING FOR AGE ALSO . THANK YOU FOR THE INFO

[pixzee · Accepted solution]

If you can scratch the bottom with a thumbnail, it's likely soapstone because it's so commonly used, but there are other soft stones. You wouldn't be able to scratch nephrite much, if at all, with a needle.

There was a plethera of these types of collectible carvings that came out of china in the 1990s. Excessive wear on the bottom might suggest it was older.

sometimes sold as a miniature vase or toothpick holder or snuff bottle (missing stopper). Small decorative stone vases seems to be selling on ebay in the $10-$15 range (total), if that's any help.