Quote:
Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey
Post #4, David suggests that this dark colouring of the hilt is perhaps not entirely natural.
I agree with him.
I have more than a few ivories, well over 100 ivory hilts, some of which are several hundred years old, in addition I have many other ivories. Only the few that have been purposely coloured bear colour resembling the colour of this hilt. This type of patination does not in my experience occur naturally, it requires some outside agent to generate it.
In respect of why this was done we would need to ask the person who did it.
I am not prepared to speculate as to why this particular hilt might have been coloured.
I do know that the application of false patina is quite prevalent in Asian & South East Asian societies. I used to be acquainted with several dealers in Jawa & Bali who practiced this method of "enhancement", I saw how it was done.
This hilt under discussion looks to me as if it has been treated in this way.
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Thanks very much Alan. Have you ever tried to restore an artificially-stained piece of ivory to its original condition, or would that be inviting disappointment into one's life? How deeply would the tea/coffee staining penetrate into the ivory, I wonder?