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Old 15th December 2021, 07:45 AM   #6
mariusgmioc
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Location: Austria
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How to check wheteher is ivory or not?!

The colour, with orange hue is quite unusual for ivory. Even old and much handled ivory does not usually get that hue. It becomes yellowish but more towards tan or even coffee. Also the chips shown by the red arrow make me think it is resin.

The best way to identify elephant ivory is finding the Schreger lines. They are usually found in the areas shown by green arrows. However, this requires some experience. Check the internet and have a look at the different photos of Schreger lines:

https://www.google.nl/search?q=schre...EK&sclient=img

However, the Schreger lines are characteristic ONLY to elephant and mammoth ivory. Walrus, marine and hippopotamus ivory do not show Schreger lines.

Besides that, there are more destructive methods that I don't recommend, like rubbing it quickly with very fine sandpaper and check it whether it smells like "dentist" or like plastic, or applying a red hot needle to check whether nothing happens (ivory) or it starts melting (resin - albeit I have encountered resins that do not melt when tested this way).

Last edited by mariusgmioc; 15th December 2021 at 08:42 AM.
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