Ivory figurines??

Good evening all,

I've come across these two figures which belonged to my late father-in-law.

I'm interested to know more about them. From what I've seen online they look to be elephant ivory due to the crosshatched Shreger lines, but I could (most likely) be wrong.

They're both approximately 25cm tall (including the base).

I'm utterly useless at finding the Chinese/Japanese symbols online so it would be great if anyone knows what this is.

I've also got some erotic figurines which I can post if people are interested.

 

Is th bottom perfectly smooth? Or are those lines we are seeing a texture?

 

Are there any more of these Shreger lines anywhere else? I can’t see any.

 

Only on the bottom next the symbols that I could see. Again this was my best guess but I'm by no means an expert.

 

A texture, but very subtle.

 

I have the same figures - Chinese emperor and empress statues, made of resin. Probably dating to the 1990s, souvenir items. You are missing the little things that stick into the top of their hats. There are many on ebay for sale.

 

That's a little disappointing but I really appreciate the message I was a bit sceptical if they were real because of how soft they felt and white they are. I'll post the others now as they are definitely real ivory.
Have you got a picture of what is missing from the top? I'll see if I can find them anywhere.

 

Those sold for $65. Higher than most on ebay.

 

These look like ivory to me. Definitely not old enough to resell... unless the lighting is making them look much whiter and shiny than they actually are.

 

You will only see the cross hatched schrager lines on the horizontal cross section (in this case, the base).

 

Yes, again at the top, where you would expect them.



IMO these are ivory. Schreger lines only appear in cross sections. No doubt there are many resin versions.

 

They aren’t evident on my iPad. They just look like resin to me.

 

In the base photos it appears that you can see the cementum.

 

The bottom looks right, I can’t see where they are at the top though. I can only see lines made by the carver.

 

Can someone read the marks on the bottom? That might help.

 

You seem to have quite a few pieces of ivory. Unfortunately, unless you can prove they are pre ban, there are serious restrictions on selling them. I suggest you keep them an enjoy them.

 

I know I can't sell them,i was just keen to find out exactly what they were. My partner is certain she's seen a receipt of a sale somewhere for at least some of these pieces which I was hoping might have more information on the, but as yet we've not been able to find it.

 

Another vote for real ivory and an abundance of Schreger lines in the right places. And I have to agree, they are likely to be post-1947.
@Couch Potato Wannabe and @JayBee may be able to help with the mark.