imitation ivory ?

[Green]

Jean;

I don't know what that black dots are... could well be markings from pendokok /selut as you suggested.

Anthony;

I did scrape from the inside of the hole and the powder smelt just like ivory. But did not try to burn it. The lines looked very much like the real thing if compared to the ones of imitation ivory that I saw on the internet but I am not sure as I have no experience in this .

David;

Like you I'm against the use of 'new' ivory. I hope this one is not that new (if it is real ivory).

[francantolin]

Hello,
sometimes a simple clue can help:
what about it's weight ?
Is it heavy-massive ??
Ivory is a massive matter ( old billiard ball were made of )

most of plastic-resin are really lighter...

[mariusgmioc]

To me it is UNDOUBTEDLY ivory!

There are many extremely good imitation materials for ivory, but I am not aware of any capable of replicating the Schreger lines.

The hot needle test is literally stupid and useless. Stupid because it can damage an art object and useless because there are some Ivory imitations that would pass the test (I personally have some).

The black dots are equally distributed and almost certainly are markings from a crown- or flower-shaped pendok. Also most certainly they can be polished out easily.

It is a very beautiful hilt!

[asomotif]

I must say that the shreger lines are so very clear and obvious, that it makes me suspicious.

Could you make some more pictures, also with daylight ?

The needle test is indeed outdated as Marius points out.

But if you take the scrapings from the peksi hole and burn it, this should give the smell of burned hair.

[Anthony G.]

Originally Posted by Green

Jean;

I don't know what that black dots are... could well be markings from pendokok /selut as you suggested.

Anthony;

I did scrape from the inside of the hole and the powder smelt just like ivory. But did not try to burn it. The lines looked very much like the real thing if compared to the ones of imitation ivory that I saw on the internet but I am not sure as I have no experience in this .

David;

Like you I'm against the use of 'new' ivory. I hope this one is not that new (if it is real ivory).

Hi, my good pal who has much experience told me that yours seem to be a real stuff. Happy for you

[mariusgmioc]

As I was intrigued by this discussion I did a short internet research concerning ivory imitations and it turns out there are resins that imitate ivory quite well, including the Schreger lines.

Here is more information from the GIA website, for reference:

https://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/fa...-with-a-pseudo

PS: However, upon more careful examination of the photos from the GIA website one can notice that the cris-cross pattern of the resin samples is less regular and without the optical interference effect of the genuine Schreger lines. Also, it is quite apparent that the difference in coloration is also visible sideways, along the length of samples (see for example the tusk-shaped sample).

So, I still am pretty sure the hilt in question is made of genuine ivory. Polishing out the black spots (or polishing the interior of the hole) may reveal the characteristic "dentist" smell resulted from burning the ivory.

[Jean]

Very poor imitations!
I am also quite convinced that the hilt in question is made from genuine elephant ivory. The smell test by slightly drilling the pesi hole is a positive indication.
Francatolin, I own one hilt made from resin and it is as dense as ivory so this is not a reliable criteria.
Regards

[David]

Originally Posted by mariusgmioc

As I was intrigued by this discussion I did a short internet research concerning ivory imitations and it turns out there are resins that imitate ivory quite well, including the Schreger lines.

Here is more information from the GIA website, for reference:

https://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/fa...-with-a-pseudo

PS: However, upon more careful examination of the photos from the GIA website one can notice that the cris-cross pattern of the resin samples is less regular and without the optical interference effect of the genuine Schreger lines. Also, it is quite apparent that the difference in coloration is also visible sideways, along the length of samples (see for example the tusk-shaped sample).

So, I still am pretty sure the hilt in question is made of genuine ivory. Polishing out the black spots (or polishing the interior of the hole) may reveal the characteristic "dentist" smell resulted from burning the ivory.

I completely agree Marius. The imitation stuff looks interesting, but one can easily see the difference between the affect created there and actual Schreger lines. I am 9.99% sure that Nik's example is the real thing. Must always leave some room for doubt without having the hilt in hand.