Ohio Slate Pendant? Nope.
Not every piece of slate with a hole drilled in it and made in ancient times is a pendant. The piece pictured here is in fact an ancient artifact - but, it is not a pendant as it was reported to be when it was sold to a collector I met not long ago who was selling me part of his collection. As I looked at the relic, he related that he bought it from a dealer who told him it was found in Ohio, and that it was a drilled slate pendant. Well - it is drilled, and it is made from a type of slate - but the fact is that is not a pendant, and it is not from Ohio. Actually, this relic hails from just a bit farther west than Ohio - like China.
What is pictured here is an ancient Chinese suspension knife. While the slate is thin like a pendant and comes in shades of gray to black like many N. American slate relics, the hole was actually used to tie a cord through to slip around the wrist to keep the knife handy during use. One edge of the slate will taper sharply to a cutting edge. This is the tell-tale sign that it is a chinese knife, not a ornamental pendant.
I thought I would point this out as occasionally I have seen these at shows that have been mixed into collections, and unless you are aware that slate was worked into relics in other countries such as China, you may be buying a pendant when in fact, you are getting a knife from a different part of the world.
As a side note - when I was photographing this relic, I got a good shot of an edge of the slate that was scored and snapped during manufacture. Slate and also Jade was often "sized" by cutting two lines into the surface on oppposite sides from each other and then the crafter would snap it at the score lines. This process was used in many places around the world when working this type of material as seen on N. American slate, Costa Rican Jade relics and as shown here, Chinese slate artifacts as well. The below pic shows the original score lines that were placed in the surface before it was snapped, and you can see how the snapped edge was then worked/polished over.
Have a great week folks!
Jim Bennett
09-24-08
What is pictured here is an ancient Chinese suspension knife. While the slate is thin like a pendant and comes in shades of gray to black like many N. American slate relics, the hole was actually used to tie a cord through to slip around the wrist to keep the knife handy during use. One edge of the slate will taper sharply to a cutting edge. This is the tell-tale sign that it is a chinese knife, not a ornamental pendant.
I thought I would point this out as occasionally I have seen these at shows that have been mixed into collections, and unless you are aware that slate was worked into relics in other countries such as China, you may be buying a pendant when in fact, you are getting a knife from a different part of the world.
As a side note - when I was photographing this relic, I got a good shot of an edge of the slate that was scored and snapped during manufacture. Slate and also Jade was often "sized" by cutting two lines into the surface on oppposite sides from each other and then the crafter would snap it at the score lines. This process was used in many places around the world when working this type of material as seen on N. American slate, Costa Rican Jade relics and as shown here, Chinese slate artifacts as well. The below pic shows the original score lines that were placed in the surface before it was snapped, and you can see how the snapped edge was then worked/polished over.
Have a great week folks!
Jim Bennett
09-24-08
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