Ivory Kakatua Question...

[Spunjer]

recent acquisition... my question is; is there a way to identify what type of ivory this is? it has a nice golden yellow tint to it, but it has this distinct graining all over. comments?

[Rick]

Hi Ron , that looks like a Danganan, circa 1850's, size pommel ; yes ?

I'll bet it's elephant ; whether African or Asian I have no idea .
The reason I think so is due to the size of the pommel ; if it were marine ivory you would probably see a core of some kind .

Is there any way to tell the difference between African and Asian elephant ivory after it has been carved ; I know the Asian tusks are smaller , but are there any material differences ?

[Rather]

It will be almost impossible to determinate the kind of ivory by colour, which depends on age and exposition to light etc. It can be done by microscope or spectroscopy, also different hardness of the material could be an indicator of the source. Specialists are needed to do such a research. Sorry, not much of a help for you... :(

[VANDOO]

THERE APPEARS TO BE THE CROSS HATCH PATTERN IN YOUR PICTURE #4 WHICH WOULD INDICATE IT IS ELEPHANT IVORY CAN'T TELL FOR SURE FROM A PICTURE. A EXPERT CAN TELL IF IT IS ASIAN OR AFRICAN BUT THE AGE CRACKS AND PATINA OFTEN MAKE IT MORE DIFICULT. THERE ARE A COUPLE OF POSTS IN THE OLD ARCHIVES ON HOW TO IDENTIFY DIFFERENT IVORYS AND SOME BOOK REFRENCES AS WELL. NICE KRIS :D

[Michael Blalock]

Elephant ivory has a grain with Schreger lines. See the attached link.
www.lab.fws.gov/Ivory/elephant.html
http://www.lab.fws.gov/Ivory/prelim.html

[kino]

C'mon and post a photo of the whole thing. ;)

[Spunjer]

thanks for the link, michael.
reason i brought this up is because i was thinking perhaps the ivory was from a seacow, after reading a somewhat recent thread, due to its hue. but i guess the consensus is it's elephant. nothing wrong with that, now i know. kinda wonder tho; when the artisan carved this pommel, did he had it in his mind that it's gonna turn golden yellow? was this or the other prematurely aged then to get this hue? either way, me think it's pretty....

[Spunjer]

per kino's request...

[Andrew]

Wow. That's gorgeous. :cool:

[Rick]

A 21 ; that's major mojo there Spunger !
Love the center panel !

[BluErf]

Hey, beautiful blade and ivory kakatua! The 'beak' of the pommel matches the tall daun spike on one side of the sheath.

Is this kris Mindanao or Sulu, or something else? The sheath almost looks like a Malay keris sheath.

[Spunjer]

i just love the way everything harmonize: the gray steel, black cord grip, golden yellow pommel and golden brown tagub. also, i like the way the tagub crosspiece matches the kris's katik, all the way the the little lip. back to the grip; something about the grip when it's caked like that. would be interesting what you may find if one does a CSI on it.
yeah, the center panel was a pleasant surprise! the lamination goes all the way to the katik, and if you notice the blades are laminated in a different manner, creating a pretty neat contrast. i would say it's a Sulu Kris...

[kino]

Spunger, very nice sword, brah! I really like the laminations lines.
Thanks for sharing.

[Battara]

I agree Spunger, Sulu kris and elephant ivory for the same reasons Vandoo mentioned. Yellow is not unusual at all (look at my avatar) and color is dependant on amount of exposure to sulpher content in the air, age, and light. Nice puppy - you are making a killing recently on PI/Moro stuff.

[Spunjer]

Nice puppy - you are making a killing recently on PI/Moro stuff.

just trying to keep up with the joneses, lol. ebay, which was once a pretty reasonable place to go hunting, has now been competing price wise with the 'tribal art' sector. well, almost ;) . so i just have to find a different venue...

[Battara]

I know what you mean....prices have been sky rocketing I think in part due to these pieces sliding into the tribal art market. :(