Introducing...

[David]

The craftsmanship is lovely, but i'm not so sure that this work is to my tastes. So, is this an old ivory hilt that has more recently been adorned with gold and jewels. The ivory looks old with a nice patina, but the gold work looks new. Or perhaps it is all new and the ivory is just aged this way, but it doesn't seems so. If it is as i suggest, an older ivory hilt recently adorn that i have to ask why? Eye-candy for wealthy collectors? Personally i have the urge to scrape all the gold and jewels off to reveal the beauty of the ivory beneath.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by David

The craftsmanship is lovely, but i'm not so sure that this work is to my tastes. So, is this an old ivory hilt that has more recently been adorned with gold and jewels. The ivory looks old with a nice patina, but the gold work looks new. Or perhaps it is all new and the ivory is just aged this way, but it doesn't seems so. If it is as i suggest, an older ivory hilt recently adorn that i have to ask why? Eye-candy for wealthy collectors? Personally i have the urge to scrape all the gold and jewels off to reveal the beauty of the ivory beneath.

Hello David,

why do you think that the gold work is more recent? I am not sure that it is like this.
I am nearly sure that you can find in old collections hilt's like this which are completly original. Or I am wrong by this?

sajen

[A. G. Maisey]

I think you're saying that this hilt is perhaps not so recent, aren't you David?

Yes, it may not be made the day before yesterday, and with that sort of provenance it could date back a little, but this style of hilt is extremely rare amongst old pieces, and not at all uncommon amongst more recent pieces. I think I've only ever seen two of this style that definitely dated to pre-WWII, and neither of them were as refined as the dozens that I have seen that are from current production.

But still, my remarks on false aging are still valid. They may or may not apply to this piece, but it is certain that all which appears to be old in ivory, need not necessarily be so.

[David]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

I think you're saying that this hilt is perhaps not so recent, aren't you David?

Yes, it may not be made the day before yesterday, and with that sort of provenance it could date back a little, but this style of hilt is extremely rare amongst old pieces, and not at all uncommon amongst more recent pieces. I think I've only ever seen two of this style that definitely dated to pre-WWII, and neither of them were as refined as the dozens that I have seen that are from current production.

But still, my remarks on false aging are still valid. They may or may not apply to this piece, but it is certain that all which appears to be old in ivory, need not necessarily be so.

Oh, i have no doubt that your remarks are correct on the aging of new ivory. I am not trying to suggest that this hilt has any great age, but if it was collected in the 50s-60s it could 50-60 years old. The Noe collection, or at least the people who were dealing with the sale of this collection dated this piece to mid 19th century, a dating i am somewhat suspicious of.
Sajen, my statement about the gold being newer than the ivory was more based on the way it looks in the first photos posted of the hilt. I get a different impression from the second set of photos i posted.