What is Vintage Ivory Jewelry?

Vintage ivory jewelry was often intricately carved and is highly valued for its rich detail.

History

Ivory jewelry was popular in the 19th century and typically made from elephant tusks. After the invention of plastic, that substance replaced ivory in popularity because of to its inexpensive cost and durability.

Types

African and Asiatic elephants, mammoths, walrus, boar, warthog, whale, and hippopotamus have been "donors" for ivory jewelry. While elephant ivory was the most common material used in vintage ivory jewelry, walrus tusks were often used to make scrimshawed sword handles.

Ivory Substitutes

Bone and certain types of nut are often used today as an ivory substitute in jewelry. In the early 20th century, celluloid and Ivorine were also used as substitutes.

Care of Ivory

Being a very porous material, ivory absorbs oils, ink, paint and dye. The International Ivory Society recommends mild dish washing soap and water to clean vintage ivory.

Today's Ivory

Mammoth ivory jewelry continues to be manufactured legally because mammoths are extinct. Elephant ivory was banned in 1990 in an effort to prevent the extinction of African and Asiatic elephants.

Identification

Cross-hatching is often visible on authentic ivory, while bone displays vessel passages and tends to be concave on the reverse side of the jewelry because of the hollow center of the bone.

References

• Ivory Jewelry

Resources

• Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute