Lega Ivory Figure

[Sajen]

Very nice ivory figurine!

Regards,
Detlef

[David]

It's certainly a very interesting item, but are you sure it is ivory. I don't have it in hand, but i don't see any Schreger Lines which would be present if this was elephant ivory. Doesn't appear to be hippo ivory. I would image those would be the two most common ivory sources for an artifact from this area.
I have read that these figures can be bone sometimes as well as ivory, so it being bone would not make it less authentic. As you have discovered already, these are rather powerful objects for an very elite group of people initiated into secret societies within their tribal structure. If you hold onto this you should keep that in mind. I think it is something you don't have to be particularly superstitious to acknowledge. I do wonder how important objects like this ever end up in auctions.

[shayde78]

Thank you both for the feedback.

David, I'm quite certain the lines running down the torso are, indeed, Schreger Lines. I'm usually very hesitant to claim the tilt on a knife or sword is ivory. However, this being a solid piece of material, its heft, and its overall appearance makes me more confident in it being ivory than I'm used to being. That said, I would greatly appreciate if you're willing to lend your more experienced judgment if there are additional pictures I can take to aid in your analysis. Simply let me know and I'm happy to upload them.

Again, I truly appreciate the willingness to share your thoughts and impressions.

Thank you,
-Rob

[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