Delicate Boone Brooch | ||
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Posted 9 years ago
freiheit
(1224 items)
This little brooch looks and feels very fragile. It has, what looks like, very light etching and painting of two birds in a willow tree. Because of the subject I think it might be from the Victorian era. But, who knows, I am not sure.
Thanks for looking:)
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A very pretty ivory brooch! It has a Chinese look.
So delicate :)... I get a Asian feel too. Appears to be ivory as Davy said or maybe even celluloid or bakelite. Both those would have a distinctive smell when warmed. Celluloid is camphor based so it smells like mothballs or pine sap but highly flammable. Bakelite is formaldehyde based so it has a sweet chemical smell you will never forget.
I think I see shreger lines which would indicate ivory
How lovely and delicate! My guess is Ivory or bone. Does bone have those striations? (Shreger lines)
First of all I want to say thank you for all the comments. It turns out that I was wrong: The brooch is not Victorian at all! Davyd286, you are correct. I think the brooch is Chinese. I found this one on line and think that it was made in the same style and time period: https://www.etsy.com/listing/225628679/chinese-vintage-carved-bone-or-faux?ref=market
Mikelv85 you were correct too. Thanks for your tips about how to test it. I didn't do the testing because by looking at it one can see that it most likely isn't any plastic.
Themuse and Celine, I can see as well some lines but I am not able to say if it is ivory or bone. The link I posted mentions "faux ivory." I know that the trade of ivory is restricted, for good reason, and it is illegal to buy/sell ivory items made after the ban was implemented. I also read that some sellers say that an item is “faux ivory” so that they can sell it in spite of the ban. I believe that the ban came into effect in 1989. Since my brooch seems to be much older than that I don’t think I have to worry about any possible legal issues but I would still feel bad if it was ivory.
I find jewelry made of bone creepy too. So in case you wonder why I bought this brooch: It was in the “cheap pile” of items and I thought it was too pretty to pass on so I decided to give it a good home:)
from what I understand shreger lines are unique to elephant and mammoth ivory. You can find some good pics and info about them online. French ivory (celluloid) mimics the lines but tends towards stripes rather than crosshatching from what Ive seen. I know what you mean about feeling bad about ivory, but still recognizing how pretty they are. I have several pieces I wont sell but cant bear to just discard!
Themuse, I agree with you. Ivory is really special and beautiful. I guess that's the reason it is so popular in some circles. I would never pay big money to support poachers and people without scruples but I wouldn't discard vintage and antique items either. Besides, moral values have changed trough out the times and we shouldn't judge people's actions of decades or centuries ago with our standards. (I hope I phrased that the correct way)