Featured help with large horn beaded necklace

hey again

found this the other day, quite an impressive size, wondered origin, and what type of horn it would be(passed pin test)

any thoughts appreciated

 

Those are very nice horn beads.

I've had different types of horn beads, but have never been sure of their origins other than to assume they were imported. Large beads made from natural materials were popular in the 1970s, but that doesn't mean they couldn't be more recent.

 

Indian cow horn probably. Water buffalo maybe - nothing endangered.

 

i've never seen striped horn like that..........

 

Looks like rhino horn with applied stripes ,not sure how the stripes were "dyed".

 

I was wondering about the stripes, too. I've had dark horn beads that still had a rough lighter-colored exterior edge section, which I assumed was the original texture and color.

I'm thinking maybe Charlie's beads were polished in a way that still shows that exterior section, but with the surface smoothed and tapered down.

 

You can't really see the perimeter edges here, but these are the beads I was thinking of (from an old photo)...

 

I've never seen striping like that......but I've never seen this pretty fellow either....sooo...WTHDIK ??

 

thanks for the great info pat

 

Then how come they seem to spiral.....?

 

Good question. I dunno... admittedly, some of the beads in the necklace fit my hypothesis better than others. I don't know how much the natural stuff inside of horn varies.

 

They are nice beads. I believe they are water buffalo horn. According to a description of horn provided for knife scales, some can have "strong figuring":
"Intended for use in gunstock work. This material is selectively acquired by us from large, fat, high density Water Buffalo horn stock of Indian origin, in order that the grain structure is as "tight" as possible. Material will polish with a certain "blue grey" /"oily" translucence. Occasional pieces have stronger figuring and will be available at a premium and by arrangement."
http://www.highlandhorn.com/bone-gu...s-materials/buffalo-horn-scales-150mm-95.html

These are examples of water buffalo horn beads, which show they can be quite variable in color:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/546550...ds&ref=sr_gallery-1-12&organic_search_click=1


https://www.etsy.com/listing/572192...ads&ref=sr_gallery-1-8&organic_search_click=1

I suppose there is a chance they were artistically dyed/bleached, to create the distinctive spiral effect.

I think it is highly unlikely that they are rhino horn. Too scarce/illegal (and valuable) to be used simply for beads.

 

thanks for the info, and your time mate

 

See this has already been well explored, but, based on other things I have seen made from it, was also going to say water buffalo.