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Originally Posted by Green
Jean;
I'm also learning here...but wouldn't bone have porosity too? how would one distinguish bone, deer horn elephant ivory and other ivories?
I've seen bone that look exactly like elephant ivory (to my untrained eyes) until it was told that it is actually bone... similarly I've seen 'elephant ivory' that is made from mixture of ivory powder and other materials that look quite indistinguishable from the real solid elephant ivory...
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Dear Green,
Your question is too complex to be replied simply but let me just say that a hilt made from a cylindrical buffalo bone piece is
generally decaying more quickly (becoming more porous) than deer antler in the inner part. This hilt looks in pristine condition in the thinner part (neck) and no defect or cap is visible on top so it is more likely made from deer antler, or possibly marine ivory. However you are right that recently made hilts from buffalo bone could look like ivory. And the distinction between the various types of ivories is another question but you can find good articles about it on Dr Google.
Best regards