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Originally Posted by mariusgmioc
From all I know, there is a significant price difference between different types of ivory with elephant ivory being the most highly prized and marine ivory being the lowest prized. But then again, "marine ivory" is a generic term encompassing various types of ivory (narwhal, sperm whale, killer whale, etc), some more expensive than the others.
As far as I know, hippo ivory is very similar to elephant ivory and it can easily pass for it, unless you are really knowledgeable in the field. Moreover, some say it is superior in quality to the elephant ivory, thus it commands also rather high prices. Since I am by no means knowledgeable in this field, I base my oppinion more on what read and hear from friends, so this is nothing but a not so educated oppinion.  |
I dunno Marius, i can only speak from my own personal perspective. When i see a nice, well-worked antique ivory hilt on a keris i personally never base its worth on the type of ivory it is crafted from. How does one compare unique and individually crafted pieces? If you are speaking about the purchase of the raw material for these miniature works of art you may indeed indeed be on to something, but i base the worth of antique ivory hilts on their level of craft, age, intricacy of carving and the rarity of the form, not on whether the ivory is elephant, ivory or marine sourced.
As i stated, from photos on the internet hippo and elephant might pass for one another. In hand i would image that people who trade in ivory can indeed tell the difference. For one thing Schreger lines (cross-hatched diamond lines) seen in elephant ivory are unique to that type of ivory.
https://www.fws.gov/lab/ivory_natural.php