Recently I acquired a beautiful set of George Ibberson (Sheffield) silverplate flatware in a wonderful low boy chest also marked George Ibberson. The flatware is the Old English pattern with a few Fiddle pattern items thrown in.
The knives, and there are at least 3 sizes of them, have “ivory” handles. Some are more yellowed than others. I was told they were bone. Other than believing what someone else has told me, how can I tell what these handles are made of?
The marks on the flatware date them to the first half of the 20th century. I was told the chest dates to 1900/1910.
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AbbysAttic Reputation: 395 See AbbysAttic's booth |
I use the 10x coding Loupe to see if it is “porous” in order to help me decide. Hope this will help you too? Good luck…
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MONTROSE Reputation: 8354 See MONTROSE's booth |
Use a loupe for magnified viewing, Elephant Ivory has an “engine turned” effect. Bone has long “lines” and tiny black spots.
I hope that helps.
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Vintage_Treasures_ Reputation: 38 See Vintage_Treasures_'s booth |
Bone is pretty easy to ID as it has canals and pits that are usually dark. Sometimes the bone is bleached so the dark may not show but the pits and canals still do. Use a loop to look for these.
Plastic is much lighter than ivory or bone but without something for comparison this may not help. Also, like glass and stoneware or natural stones Ivory will feel cold when you pick it up where as plastic will not.
There is a very good article on bone, ivory and plastics at [URL removed]
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froggieb Reputation: 774 See froggieb's booth |
Omg, what a great find! That is necessary to clean it very careful, because it should be really expensive
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Felicitacs Reputation: 16 |
All my things that require delicate cleaning, I trust only professionals. The same goes for my Persian carpets. I’d rather use janitorial services on the site [URL removed] then I will spoil some expensive and valuable thing for me. I advise you, too, not to take any risks and pay someone who will take responsibility for the damage to your property.
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CharlyF2 Reputation: 44 |
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Asked: over 14 years ago
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