Menuki weight

[vajo]

I have a question about a pair of menuki that i bought. I thought they are gilded copper. Condition ist very "used" and they look a little burned. I cleaned them very carefully and feel that they are very heavy in hand. These are small menuki 2,8 cm in lenght. They weight 5 gr each - together 10 gr. 

[ROKUJURO]

Chris,

the underside doesn't look like gold to me.

[b.hennick]

I would test them with a magnet.

[vajo]

1 minute ago, b.hennick said:

I would test them with a magnet.

 

Ok,

 

Test it. No effect.

[vajo]

Barry did you have some iron menuki in that size to compare weight?

[b.hennick]

I do not as all are larger.

[Tanto54]

I have seen that type of black "tarnish" on old, low karat gold menuki (obviously not the gold corroding, but something else in the alloy).  On the other hand, the quality would usually be better with gold...  Do any of your friends have a good metal detector? They can give you a good idea of what is in the metal with nondestructive tests, or many coin collectors or pawn shops will have the reagent necessary to test for gold with a small rubbing on the back.  Perhaps Ford or one of the others who know more about metals will comment.

[Yasaka Azuma]

ART CLAY & GOLD PASTE ?

 

 

[Brian]

Have some old art clay lying around. Never got to using it. never thought to play with molding and then using it to make display menuki. Hmm...

[YOJIMBO]

 

[vajo]

I was at a goldsmith today and show him the menuki. He said that is a mixture between different metals. He said he didn't know much about Japanese metals but this remembers him on corinthium bronce. Some parts, gold, silver, copper and other parts like iron. He found it quiet interesting. He said they smell typical like that. 

 

For me it was important that they are not pure gold.  I need them for a tsuka 😁

 

 

[Ford Hallam]

The fact that the backs of these are flat, as evidenced by the diagonal file marks across the backs, suggests whoever finished these off didn't understand the correct shaping of menuki.

 

To my eyes these look like gilded and silvered brass castings, cast from wax models that came from a rubber mould of original pieces and are almost certainly not old enough to be called antique.