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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Any Jewelry, post: 422515, member: 2844&quot;]Gianluca, I am sorry you feel offended by the comments, but everyone is trying to help you. And they are right.</p><p>The photo cluttered showed of the scratchy lines on the base of one of your figurines shows that they are resin. Those scratchy lines are seen a lot on netsuke-like objects produced in the 1970s and 80s from a resin called ivorine. Ivorine is simply a fancy word for ivory-coloured resin.</p><p><br /></p><p>Ivory never looks like that and a netsuke base never looks like that.</p><p>Here is the base of a relatively modest antique netsuke. Please disregard the yellow patches, residue of a sticker that I haven&#039;t been able to remove without harming the ivory.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]147592[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>You can see important netsuke and ivory characteristics:</p><p><br /></p><p>1) The bottom is not flat, but carved, with the feet of the figurine distinctly shaped. Netsuke have to look good from all sides because they are toggles, like buttons. </p><p>You have to be able to pass a cord through the holes, from one hole to another. </p><p>Many netsuke are signed, like this one, but not all.</p><p><br /></p><p>2) The all-important sign for ivory, the Schreger lines, which are a natural growth pattern of ivory. At some parts of the carving you see cross-hatching, like on one of his shoe soles, a way to tell ivory from other materials.</p><p>Schreger lines never look like scratches, like the lines on your figurines do, but form a beautiful delicate pattern of lighter and darker lines.</p><p><br /></p><p>Another netsuke detail, with delicately shaded, cross-hatched Schreger lines:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]147594[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Your figurines do have some value as nice replicas. Please give them a wash though, they will look much nicer.<img src="styles/default/xenforo/smilies/smile.png" class="mceSmilie" alt=":)" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>By the way, I have over 40 years of experience with netsuke.<img src="styles/default/xenforo/smilies/wink.png" class="mceSmilie" alt=";)" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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