Expert: Ralph Salier - 11/14/2010

Question
My great uncle fancied himself a tresher hunter  he was well traveled a
metal detector enthusiast and collected many things when he passed
cleaning out  his house was a task under gone by me and my brothers  as
we took pictures off the wall we uncoverd a hidden safe witch was later
found to contain  these axe heads  two I bleave are solid jade witch we
bleave must have been his most prized finds.   The problem is  we know
next to nothing about them and they realy could have come from
anywhere. Cause he traveled  everywhere  could you please help. Any
information you can offer would be most  apresheated. I have pics to send
but I'm not shure ur geting them my Iphone won't let me without an email
address of some sort :(  

Answer
Hi Ken,

Well first of all, a jade axe would be very unusual.  It could be Chinese, Japanese, Mayan, Olmec perhaps even Aztec.  Having said this, they could also be fake. With out detailed photos with a good camera, I'm not sure how much I can help.  You may send them to my email address: rsalier@hotmail.com with the subject line Jade Axe.  

Besure to include a scale like a ruler or a coin, so that I have an idea of the size of the axe heads.  Are there any markings carved into their surfaces? If so, having a photo of these will be very important in making an identification.  Given the nature of the stone, this may be very hard to accomplish.  Try using oblique lighting to bring up the carving.  Was there any documentation with the axe heads in the safe?  Your uncle may have retained a sales receipt, details on where they came from ect... This too would be of interest and value in determining the origin and age of these objects.

I look forward to seeing the pics.