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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;mirana, post: 9960306, member: 79705&quot;]I need some amber experts on this one! <img src="styles/default/xenforo/smilies/biggrin.png" class="mceSmilie" alt=":D" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>I can&#039;t find another like this guy, other than the portrait is in the style of wax portraits from late 18th through 19th c. I put a slightly moist cotton tip on him to clear up a little debris and the surface does soften, so I&#039;m relatively confident he&#039;s a (molded?) wax. I&#039;m open to other suggestions though!</p><p><br /></p><p>The base has tool and drill marks, is extremely light (15g/.5oz), and semi-transparent. It&#039;s soft enough that I could use a dental pick to lightly scratch the interior of the break on the right side (one scratch...the others were already there). It&#039;s 2&quot; (5.08 cm) high.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]500127[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>The surface is a matte with pitting on the portrait side. When lit, there&#039;s an interior crackle structure layer.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]500129[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>I can&#039;t do tests that are wet, but it does fluoresce.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]500128[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Soooo amber? Some early plastic? Some other theory? Please help! <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie25" alt=":bookworm:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>IF it&#039;s amber...just for speculation that I will probably never confirm...is it possible it&#039;s Simetite (Sicilian amber)? The specimens are giving me pause, but I&#039;m not an amber collector so I don&#039;t know what they all look like.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]500130[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]500131[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.rivistaitalianadigemmologia.com/en/2019/01/29/gems-of-italy-amber/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.rivistaitalianadigemmologia.com/en/2019/01/29/gems-of-italy-amber/" rel="nofollow">IGR also says</a>: &quot;The working of amber in Sicily dates back to the early XIXth century. The pieces were worked with a lathe or cut to create such items as necklaces, pendants, rings, trinkets or boxes, even 4-5 cm <b>cameos</b> (Ferrara, 1805).&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>For gent&#039;s identity, I casually assumed he was Socrates but I haven&#039;t found the exact same depiction and a lot of him have less hair, while this one has a more generous amount of locks, a la the statue at the Academy of Athens (1850). So suggestions on him are helpful too if you&#039;ve got any. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/smilies/biggrin.png" class="mceSmilie" alt=":D" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Thanks everyone![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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