The Latest Methods for Identifying Genuine and Fake Boxwood

Appreciating boxwood as a material: boxwood timber comes in small pieces, yet its texture is tough and fine, and its color is a pale, warm yellow. Finished boxwood carvings have a pleasing, even color with an ivory-like luster, commonly known as “ivory yellow.” As time passes, the color of carved pieces deepens year by year, giving them an antique, elegant feel, which is why they are widely loved by collectors.

Methods for Identifying Boxwood

1. Identify by color and patina: boxwood carvings naturally change color during storage, deepening year by year. Based on the depth of color and the patina, you can roughly determine the age of a carving. The older the boxwood carving, the deeper its color and the brighter its patina; conversely, the lighter the color and the thinner the patina.

2. Identify with “banana oil”: artificially aged boxwood carvings are dyed with a kind of “oil hemp color.” The faked color is unnatural and has no patina. When identifying, you can dip a soft cloth or cotton swab in a small amount of “banana oil” and wipe it; fakes will lose color, while genuine pieces will not fade.

Growth Characteristics of Boxwood

Boxwood is an evergreen shrub or small tree. The tree height is generally 1 to 3 m. The bark is gray, with the outer bark splitting off in a regular pattern; the stems and branches are four-angled, and the leaves are opposite, leathery, and round, obovate, or elliptical in shape. It stays green all year round with lush foliage and grows very slowly, adding only about one cun per year.

Boxwood sapwood is pale yellow, with a fine, straight wood grain and inconspicuous growth rings. The wood is tough, with a smooth surface, and freshly cut wood has a faint fragrance. The wood is exceptionally tough and very suitable for intricate carving.

Boxwood grows extremely slowly, rarely producing large pieces of timber, and it is very difficult to make large pieces of furniture from it. Boxwood has an even, pleasing color and a tough, fine grain, making it an excellent raw material for carving. It is mostly used for inlay in combination with other high-grade materials, or intricately carved into superb carved works.