Featured Can you please tell me about this ivory knife

The other image (i.e., the one below...) I couldn't do anything with....tried enlarging & sharpening, plus desaturating....no luck.....for ME!!



​

 

These ones have similar cracks though?
https://hamishclarkantiques.com/products/a-set-of-six-ivory-handled-georgian-knives-circa-1800

 

https://www.antiquers.com/threads/ivory-references.69023/

As Bronwen's post shows, ivory can indeed crack longitudinally like this, (as can some other materials).

If the knife handle is ivory, the best place to look for evidence of schreger lines would be on the end, which would be a cross section of a tusk.

 

I will look for schreger lines when I get home.
If it is celluloid then I wonder why it is a non symmetrical shape. It looks more 'carved' than cast. Look at the photos of it in my fingers. Its quite asymmetrical on more than one plane.

 

Celluloid can be carved and asymmetrical. But this handle is ivory, imo.
Those cracks are typical of ivory, and as 2many said, you are likely to find cross-hatched Schreger lines on the end of the handle.

 

George Washington died in 1799. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, if that is what's meant, was just a twinkle in John Jay's eye in 1866.

This catalogue entry, #9 under Cutlery and Edge Tools, mentions handles "ornamented with medallions of distinguished characters", but does not expand on the nature of the handles:

https://books.google.com/books?id=X...nepage&q=john garside cutlery company&f=false

Entry #13 is more specific:



"Executed by machinery" explains a lot.

I would like to see this side after a gentle cleaning with water, dish washing liquid & the application of a soft toothbrush, It may reduce the darkness of the lines somewhat & is safe for ivory or synthetic, but do not soak for any length of time.



Going on what may be the faulty assumption that the distinguished characters on the handle relate to one another, these are Victoria's predecessors,

King George III



and King George IV:



I've come round to ivory. Looks like Garside was known for ivory handles & company's heyday was pre-synthetic. It's easy to forget that ivory was not seen quite so much as a luxury item then as it is now. My ivory cameos are all set in very inexpensive ways, not in the gold you might expect.

 

Other possibilities for the gentlemen... Prime Ministers during QV's reign:

 

This crossed my mind, but didn't have any glyptic examples for any of them. Guess we can rule out the whiskery ones.

The one thing about monarchs is that their images are on the coins & on medals of all sorts, pre-made models for cameos everywhere. Wellington was a popular subject, but very different look from our guys:

 

@Bronwen @Any Jewelry @2manybooks

I don't see any Shreger lines. In fact I don't see much of any grain at all

 

well, it's not bone..!

 

The presence of Schreger lines would have confirmed the material as ivory; their absence proves nothing.

Do you know the 'tooth test' used as a quick way of distinguishing fake pearls from real ones? I find it has some applicability to identifying other natural materials from their man made simulants. If you rub the handle lightly against your front teeth you may find there is a slight graininess to the material (even works with crowns, I just tried it) or, on the other hand, you may find it is slick as glass. If you are not sure what you are feeling, try with something you know is hard plastic for comparison.