Lega Ivory Figure

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by shayde78

David, I'm quite certain the lines running down the torso are, indeed, Schreger Lines.

Hello Rob,

The lines running down the torso are not Schreger Lines but age cracks but like you I am sure that it's indeed ivory.

Regards,
Detlef

[David]

Originally Posted by Sajen

The lines running down the torso are not Schreger Lines but age cracks but like you I am sure that it's indeed ivory.

As Detlef points out, the lines running down the torso are not Schreger Lines. Schreger Lines present themselves in a cross-hatch pattern. The absence of Schreger Lines does not mean you item is not ivory, but probably that it is not elephant ivory, since that is where these lines are usually prevalent.
I am not not at all sure that your doll is not some other type of ivory, but i am equally not sure it is. I have had this keris hilt for a number of years that looks somewhat similar to your material that i also don't think is ivory.

[David]

Rob, this is what Schreger Lines look like.

[Ian]

Hi Rob,

David has shown a cross-sectional cut through ivory, which displays the Schreger's Line criss-crossing the cut surface. Other lines are also visible as fine concentric rings (around a small central pulp area that is not shown in that picture).

Tusks are modified teeth, and all tusks have some element of the central pulp found in teeth. What we recognize as ivory is the equivalent of tooth dentine that makes up the majority of the ivory tusk.

The straight lines on your ivory figure are caused by longitudinal sections through these concentric rings. This is definitely ivory and not bone.

A nice description of ivory, bone, horn, and antler, and their care, can be found on this site: https://www.canada.ca/en/conservatio...rn-antler.html

[shayde78]

Thank you Ian, Detlef, and David!

I will try to take some additional photos that may confirm the presence, or lack thereof of Schreger lines.

In the meantime, I tracked down the catalogue description from 2005, when that similar item sold at auction. You can view the listing here https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions...4/lot.168.html

Since pages can disappear, I'll paste the relevant text below. Also, visiting the Sotheby's page, you'll see they list the material as hippo ivory, so that may help with identifying the material of my piece:

"The Studer-Koch iginga statue bears a rich and deep patina, evidencing a long period of handling, and was likely already several generations old at the time of its collection in 1937. Within the corpus of Lega ivory figures, it is distinguished by the unconventional rendering of the limbs in cascadic form, a unique stylistic feature. Its resonnanace with Modernist sensibilities prompted the French connoisseur Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller (2006: 334) to the following commentary: "There is no doubt that the Studer-Koch figurine is 'Primitivist' and aggressive in a quite unsettling way. Indeed, it is not a 'nice object.' [... Its] face is admirably modeled, its mouth is not lacking in ferocity, and its body is firmly planted on its two bowed legs. [... It occupies] a unique place in a large and well-known corpus.""

As always, thank you for the education,
-Rob

[Ian]

Hi Rob,

Interesting item in the Sotheby's link and indeed close to the one you have. I see that Sotheby's say that example is made from hippo ivory. I don't think yours is hippo ivory, I believe it is elephant ivory.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Ian

Hi Rob,

Interesting item in the Sotheby's link and indeed close to the one you have. I see that Sotheby's say that example is made from hippo ivory. I don't think yours is hippo ivory, I believe it is elephant ivory.

Agree with Ian about the material.