I think this is a good example to help illustrate to novice collectors how important it is to follow Caveat Emptor advice. In this example, you have an Ebay seller with perfect feedback. Let us assume they had no misrepresentative intent. They have simply incorrectly identified a piece and made a few bold, unsubstantianted claims. (elephant ivory for example, artistic blade is debatable). Obviously, those claims along with adequate pictures was enough for someone to have confidence to bid and meet reserve. I'm not sure, but Ian probably noticed two things about the ivory designation. One, in the close up shots, there is no grain. Elephant ivory has a distinct grain. Second, he probably noticed what looks like a hot pin prick on top of the piece. It looks as though someone tested it for ivory in the past and found out a hot needle would easily sink in. He also noticed that the "pamor" on the blade was artificially created. He has gained this experience through years and years and years and years(sorry Ian
) of experience handling pieces where the blades pamor was forged and not so artificially created. (looks to be a wax resist with a strong, strong acid added to eat away the exposed metal). As this is an educational forum, I thought this was a good example to point out what a more experienced eye can see in a piece to help prevent one from making buying mistakes. (not that they don't ever happen to the most experienced collectors, but you lessen your chances with education.)