Featured Miniature on ivory (cracks)

I've had this for some time, one of those things I put aside until I had time to figure it out. The image is about 1-1/4 inch by 1 inch. When hearing about these often being on ivory, I looked more carefully and decided that this one likely is on ivory (so that's my working theory), thus the long crack which I lined up as closely as possible for the picture, though on a flat surface I think it could match without any gaps or overlap. Dirt is obvious but I haven't tried to clean it off and won't for now. Clearly this is in two pieces; the larger piece is free and I lifted it up and it does look like ivory from underneath. This is one of a pair of facing images, the other is similar but face is different and she may be a little older - probably a sister but wearing an identical dress - that one in in three pieces.

There is a wood box with red leather covering that opens with a hinge for the two images. From the outside in, the layers are the red leather, the very thin wood box, what looks like a piece of vellum, then the ivory rests on top, then a piece of glass on top of that and of course the velvet around the image portion. It's had a hard life - I rescued it from a dumpster after an estate cleanout - and I got it in parts so it needs repair, and I'm comfortable with the repair except for the split pieces of ivory. There is no sign of glue on the vellum, so I don't think the ivory was ever attached and it just floated on the vellum held in by the glass on top.

Has anyone ever dealt with a piece of ivory that has split like this and how to repair it? If you haven't repaired yourself, have you taken one out for repair? Although I repair everything myself I would consider taking it to a conservator if it was valuable enough, but it looks like these are only a couple hundred dollars on ebay so hiring an expert to repair is probably more than it is worth?

 

Hi Jeff,
I had a similar experience years ago with a crack on an ivory comb. The loose piece was constantly falling off. I did not want to glue it. I finally used a ivory colored candle to slightly rub the two pieces together. The wax stuck them together so on display they looked fine. I carefully cleaned off the excess wax. i do not know what happened to the comb since the first wife absconded with it.
greg

 

It might be worth finding out in this case. Miniature portrait of a toddler on ivory? If it's a known artist it could be real money. Cute kids sell.

 

funny, that toddler doesn't seem to be dressed like a toddler.....more like a young lady.....

 

That's how they were dressed back then, and that could be a gentleman for all I'd know. The clothes up to a certain age were unisex.

 

@Jeff Drum , I LOVE that little painting!!!!!!!! She's absolutely CHARMING!!!!!! When we sold my parent's house in '04 there was an oil on board (as I remember it was on board-warped a bit) about 48" X 36"...ish.....what the real name was who knows....we called her Girl in Pink Dress.....Mom LOVED her (actually, so did I, but realized we couldn't keep all that we liked!!!), she was unsigned, and went to auction with the other stuff....this was her.....when I saw the little Ivory girl, I HAD to go dig out a photo because I thought they were SO SIMILAR!!!!! Turns out hair is different, but I think maybe similar periods???? It seems there were lots of young girls in Pink dresses, some of which brought NICE sums of $$! I don't think ours did though!!! Please check yours out thoroughly before you let her go!!!! She IS WONDERFUL!!!!!

 

yours is rather serene ...Jeffs....kinda creeps me out !!
Diffrent strokes.............

 

@Jeff Drum, also, if you're looking to fix that crack yourself, at least ASK
@kyratango how!!!! She's got a REAL Penchant for fixing things......She might be able to offer some good input!!!!!

 

Jeff, it is delightful, so exquisitely painted on such a small piece of ivory.
And I think the child is cute. I agree, at that age it could be a boy or a girl. Slightly older than a toddler though, I think 4 or 5, just before boys started wearing boys clothes.

Since the ivory in this case is so delicate, I would advise not to attempt repair yourself. It is not a big chunk of ivory.
In a piece like this, the moisture from the glue could be a problem, both for the paint and the ivory. Besides, most glues contain sulphur, which eats away at ivory. Other chemicals could be a problem as well. Expert ivory restorers know what to use and how.
If the cost is more than the value, you could leave it as it is, and if you want to sell, sell it as it is.

 

Yep, the ivory wafer is so thin, anything glued behind or rubbed into the crack would stain it...
In my opinion, better to leave it as is, it is so pretty even with the damage

 

I never knew that about sulphur in glue!! Learn something new every day!

 

@Jeff Drum, If you'd be willing to show both figures in the "box" setting, I know I'd LOVE to see them together, broken or not!!!!! Looks like they must be in some type of Daguerreotype container!!!! Hard to imagine them so tiny!!!

 

Thanks all for the interest, information and excellent advice (and picture of the little girl - with one shoe off!). Thin is right. I had the same problem with trying to figure out how to put the very thin ivory together without damaging the image which is why I got stuck. Maybe egg white or some other natural "glue" between the vellum and the ivory? They must have used something back when these were made to keep the image in place though I don't see any residue left?

The wood "box" is currently in pieces and I'm dying to put it back together but I can't until I figure out what to do with the images since they will float around and split apart and rub against the glass if I don't attach them somehow.

I've learned not to go ahead with repairs until I know I can do it safely - and sometimes that means putting something aside for months or more. The other image has two full cracks with space between and I can't move the pieces together like I did this one, but I'll see what I can do to take another picture showing it better.