Bone Figurine

It’s not carved from a solid piece but the different parts ate joined with sticks and glue. So, I would think a more recent piece?

 

If it were fairly recent, think they would have used much better glue & it would not come apart. Other than guessing it originated in China, or East Asia at least, I have no words for this!

 

I don't think I have to mention what it looks like Tom and Jerry are up to!

 

Have to say the Adirondack rocking chair with rockers that look like finger bones creeps me out. Maybe meant to be some variety of bamboo?

I keep scanning through pix searching for anything that shows growth pattern. Not sure bone could take this high a polish & not show some striations; can't spot any of the usual lines that characterize elephant ivory, yet clearly not plastic. Walrus tusk a weak maybe.

 

Creepy, silly, and weird all at the same time. That figurine is a winner.

 

Were any others "struck" by the fact that the "bottom" of the chair looks like a slice of Swiss cheese and there is a mouse in the chair?

 

The holes are where the figures are attached. My first impression had been that they were natural to the material, then realized some of them are perfectly circular. But I like the idea of cheese. Kardinal didn't ask a question, so guess we can just keep babbling.

 

I wonder if it's resin and not bone. Hard to tell with that glaze. I thought it was finger bones, too. Weird.

 

Can't imagine resin parts being cobbled together this way. But yep, weird.

For me this argues for some age. If @kardinalisimo rejoins this thread, would ask for a 'tooth test' of the material.

 

Was going to ask what makes you think it is glazed, then realized maybe meant glare?

 

I’m here but not sure what to ask.

 

I think the first thing that interests the rest of us is figuring out what the material is.

In my experience, even when comparing something highly polished genuinely made from a natural material with a really convincing fake that looks like the same material (at least for the stuff I handle most: shell, coral, lava, ivory, pearls) when you do the 'tooth test', lightly rubbing (I sort of nibble) the material against the edge of your top or bottom incisors, there will be the slight sensation of graininess, even though your fingertips could not detect it. Sometimes it is so slight, it is difficult to be sure you are feeling it. However, when you do the same thing with plastic/resin/glass, they feel absolutely slick.

Occasionally I have wanted to make a determination about something that appeared to be coral, knowing that the fakes can be very, very good when it comes to coloration & weight. Since coral can be polished to a high gloss, I may not be sure one way or the other until checking using something I know to be fake.

Have also found this useful in distinguishing ivory from its imitators. So, encouraging you to give it a try with this piece. Even if a first test spot feels super smooth, try it on several places. The first step is ruling out - or not - man made material. My money says it is not, but my eyes are not able to tell me otherwise. What do your teeth say?

Also wonder whether @Any Jewelry has taken a look.

Additional question: what is your assessment of weight for size? When weighed in the hand, Goldilocks asks, do pieces seem very heavy, too light, about right for what you would expect of something that size? Do any of the parts seem hollow?

 

Not sure about the tooth test but here are extra pics.
About 3” tall, 2” wide. Feels normaly heavy for its size.
Also, the rocker can’t stay on its own but it has to be leaned on something.

 

I'm pretty much as baffled as ever, although close to certainty that it is carved in natural bone or some type of ivory. Can you tell whether the circular pieces at the sides are all one piece or in segments?

Guessing when new the pegs alone were sufficient to hold it together. As material dried out over time, they shrank & someone has tried to hold it together with glue, which has also now dried out. Looks like maybe there used to be 2 little pegs on the bottom of each rocker so that it would sit levelly & not rock?

I would consider trying to get some museum help. It can't hurt & I have been pleasantly surprised a number of times to receive helpful replies from museum professionals. The Kyoto Seishu Netsuke Art Museum looks like a place that would have an idea.

My instincts are not always right, but part of the reason I have some great things in my cameo collection is that I have followed my instincts. My gut is telling me that your piece is something quite interesting, with a fair degree of age on it.

 

The sides are made of only two pieces.

 

I have some sense of overall size from seeing it in the palm of the hand, but what is the diameter of the circular parts? My thought is that only an elephant tusk would provide the right material for making them as a single piece.

 

Well, they are not quite perfectly round, but I’d say the outer one is about 1 3/4” in diameter.

 

It would require one that was very large & thick to make them in one piece from any kind of bone. Maybe a section from near the tip of a tusk; maybe the tusk was fossil mammoth rather than modern elephant? I get such mixed signals from it. Was hoping @Any Jewelry would give us her opinion.

 

Could be from Mammoth.
Here is a figurine with a chair although it appears to be carved out from one piece:
http://www.ivoryandart.com/product/...-2-turtles-lifting-a-frog-on-a-chair/#pic_url

And some close-up of mammoth ivory:
http://www.handengravingforum.com/showthread.php?t=2256

Bwt, does the Kyoto Museum has an email for contacting them?

 

I was going to say Japanese made and missing a base, but kard just beat me to it with the frog litter.
The material of the cat and mouse okimono looks like mammoth ivory as well, so you're probably ok selling it in the US. Maybe you can get a replacement base made.