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I found these teeth/tusks a few years ago at an antique mall. The dealer thought they were composite, and charged $30 for the pair. They are clearly real teeth (texture, remains of outer discolored tooth enamel along the lower edge of the carvings), although I am not certain what kind--possibly boar or warthog tusks, or hippo tusks? The flattened base may give a clue, but I am not enough of an expert to know. I AM fairly certain they aren't whale teeth.
Although both have a good deal of damage, I think they are beautifully carved. The question is--how old are they? The motifs are consistent with carvings on 17th century rhino horn cups, but I can't find any carved Chinese teeth/tusks that old. The plethora of Chinese carved teeth on the internet are 19th or 20th century, and have people and forest motifs.
Yu can see in the photos that the teeth have been darkened with dilute ink splashes--was this done by the artist to improve the dimensionality of the carved teeth, or was it done to make the teeth look older? The teeth are stained but don't have age cracks, and the broken surfaces are very pale. Is that consistent with older pieces, or have they been deliberately aged?
These look great to me, but I recently purchased a fantastic bronze, with a great patina, that turned out to be fake. I will certainly ask Peter about these, but would like a little input from you all first...
Thanks, Charles
Hello Charles,
I like these but I am unable to answer your questions. They look the real deal. Who ever carved them has managed to do so in a way that leaves a trace of the original nature in them. With wooden carvings the ones that seem to bring the highest prices have a trace of tree left in them. Not sure if that applies to this sort of thing. Assume the narrow branch like section at the top is the root that they grew from in whatever creature they came from that might give a clue to somebody with expertise in this area. You might have to get them tested at a reputable scientific lab to be absolutely certain of which animal they came from. Hope somebody here can place the subject of the carving into a historical context for you. At $30.00 you may of discovered a great bargain. Rooting for you!
Michael
Here are a couple of photos of the bases. I forgot to mention, the teeth are 4-4.5 inches tall from the tip to the bottom of the base and about 2.5 inches across at the base. They are deeply hollowed out, to a depth of about 3.5 inches.
Charles
Hi Charles,
Thank you for providing the extra pictures of the bases.
If you have access to a long range UV light all ivory will appear white to bluish-white. Bone will be similar fluorescence to that of ivory but has the tell-tale signs of calcium deposits that will not be found on ivory. Vegetable ivory will appear slightly orange/warmer in tone.
All plastic and resin will appear a dull blue.
Most patina on old ivory will show a yellowish or brown (but dull). Any bright coloured fluorescence indicates aging process by dung, urine or animal fats.
A hot pin test is definitive but does not confirm what ivory it could be. If the hot pin actually goes into the material it's resin. If it smolders then it could be either ivory or bone.
Grains are very important in identifying ivory species (elephant, walrus etc) or bone. However I will not go into that here because the examples show no grain. That is problematic.
My feeling is without any of the above tests being performed and relying on pictures only that the examples are resin. The bases in my opinion do not look right. Especially the sectioned parts. They look artificial.
I am not 100% sure based on your pictures but I think I see signs of possible bubbles and pits but no seam. I am using a mobile phone so it is difficult at the best of times. Overall the quality of your items are high despite being resin in my opinion.
If you could perform these two tests and report back to the forum it would be appreciated.
Mark
Hi Charles,
I have been doing a bit of research recently on resins and plastics. I found this information on a website that helps people who collect vegetable ivory items. Yet to test it on a few items I have that I think maybe made from resin or plastic as redecorating will get to it when I can and post results.
- The Hot Water Test
If you're brave enough, an effective test is to run the plastic under hot tap water for a few seconds.
If it smells a little like a school chemistry lab (formaldehyde) or carbolic soap, it's a phenolic (phenol-formaldehyde) resin.
If it smells like Vicks VapoRub (camphor), it's Celluloid.
If it smells like burnt milk, it's Galalith.
If it smells clean, or like nothing at all, it's possibly poly(methyl methacrylate) - manufactured under many different trade names, including Lucite and Perspex.
- The Rub 'n Sniff Test
If you're lucky, you can make the "sniff test" work. No hot water needed, just rub the sample really hard until it emits an odour although smokers, whose hands already contain formaldehyde from the cigarettes) will be unable to discern an accurate smell by rubbing.
Michael
Thanks, all. They don't show the cross-hatch texture of elephant ivory, but many types of teeth show a lot less texture than elephant ivory (for instance, whale teeth). The broken areas show little texture (you can see some fibrous texture with a hand lens), but the older discolored carved surfaces show a fibrous texture, with some layering that appears to be parallel to the surface of the tooth. This shows up well in the photos on a computer screen. Also, there is the discolored outer enamel, that is present as remnants in the leaves at the base of the pieces; you can see this very well in the closeup photo of the bat. If you look at the photos of the base of the teeth, you can see concentric structure as well (especially in the darker of the two photos) I have examined the pieces from head to toe, and there are no bubbles at all; these pieces are 100% carved, not cast. I think the photos show this as well.
I do have a black light, and the broken areas fluoresce white in long-wave UV (also in short-wave); the older surfaces do not fluoresce, or it is obscured by dirt. A pin, heated to red hot, failed to penetrate at all, or to have any other effect. I am not a biologist, but I am a geologist, and I can guarantee these are not plastic. 🙂
Charles
Hi Charles,
A geologist that explains those nice rock samples your carvings are resting on. Wish I could be more help. To my eye there is something very natural about them. Can you tell me if the are one piece that is do they appear to be carved from the solid or do they look like they were carved in separate pieces and then attached together. I don't want to contradict Mark he has a very good eye and great knowledge in this area but if these are cast it would be from a very complicated mold and lots of work afterwards undercutting. As a geologist do have any contacts with a University or college if so they could do a test. I have a feeling that the could be vegetable ivory they are to large to be Tagua nut but could be Coquilla nut they can grow up to about 5in long. They used to make umbrella handles out of them. As I said just a feeling not based on expertise there is something very plant like about the stem at the top.
Cheers
Michael
Hi Michael,
They are each carved from a single piece, with no seams.
My thoughts are the same as yours. One of my closest friends is a research scientist who runs a scanning electron microscope and microprobe at the university here in Albuquerque. I will get him to look at a piece and see if it is calcium phosphate, but that will take a while. But I am still positive that these are real teeth. The center is hollow, where the dentin and dental pulp in the core of the tooth were removed, the carved material is the enamel, and the yellowish remnants around the base of each tooth is the cementum. These carvings have all the structure of a real tooth.
Assuming they are real teeth, I am still not certain what age they are. Other than elephant ivory, I can't find any example of carved teeth older than the 19th century, and these clearly aren't elephant ivory. On the other hand, the motifs look much older tan the 19th century...
@Charles Bryan,
Hi Charles,
Thank you for your update information etc. Very much appreciated.
If they fluorescent white and resist the hot pin test then in my opinion they are in all probability genuine. Shall be interesting in reading your friends results.
As I wrote earlier I am using a small phone at the moment and do not have access to a library etc. We are currently still in a lockdown due to covid 19.
Of concern to my eyes were in part the following three areas that I have highlighted for your information.
I think it would be most beneficial to you to forward your examples to Peter for his thoughts. Apparently he is considered an authority on ivory. Something I was only made aware about last night.
Mark
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