Featured Need help dating carved ivory casket/box

I think the pieces with Western/Christian figures and imagery are the most desirable...

And more elaborate construction...

I contacted the Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art and Alan Chong, the writer of the article on Sri Lankan ivory, asking for help dating this piece and what to expect from a restoration.

Mostly, I'm curious about that pickling... @Any Jewelry, do you know anything about... any of this?

If it is that old, I think professional restoration is the way to go. Meanwhile, I'm having fun de-gluing

But not even going to tackle that tri-level lid, as it's the linchpin of the box. I'm not condident I can square it all up with glue...

Let alone the hardware

 

You've done a fantastic job already, scouts, wonderful.

In which part of the article was that mentioned, scouts?

 

No, I just noticed it on my piece, and wondered if that was common practice to even out or just brighten carved ivory?

@808 raver thinks he sees the same on one of his items.



I also see a grey border, very faint, on the lid, with black centers on some of those flowers.




It's a toss-up whether to restore to the original style. I wouldn't want a "restorer" to erase those features, or try to recreate them... Confused.

I've paid real $$ to have professionals erase authentic features to really special items, against all logic and prior agreement.

Thanks for checking it out, @Any Jewelry

 

I don't think mine has had any white stuff been put on it since it was made, I think the maker put it on there to even out the ivory tone. The truth is I don't know

 

You see my dilemma, right, @808 raver?

It definitely gives great eye appeal, and you can still clearly see the Schreger lines through the whitewash, or whatever it is...

 

I don't either, sorry, scouts. I'll see if I can find something on it, but could be unsuccesful.

 

Think it's something as simple as chalk mixed with...

 

Wax.

 

@Kirk Johnson

What do you think?

 

Update: New approach

Get over totally reasonable fear of reconstructing with glue.

Use totally reversible museum wax or museum glue, haven't decided which.

I'm certainly not a restorer, and I was willing to try hide glue, but that's an art in itself.

 

find out what it's real value is before u start un-professionaly restoring it.
imho...

 

The plot thickens. I remembered that my older Madurese ivory keris hilts have it as well. Older as in pre-1800. I don't see it on my later hilts, which doesn't mean that the presence of chalky white on Indian pieces is pre-1800.

One of my Madurese 'oldies', a retrieved family piece dating back to the 16th-17th century, very worn but still some white in the crevices:

 

Wax.

That glue had to go - it was only hanging together by those dovetail joints.

I'm going to put it back together with removable wax adhesive, least amount possible. It'll be fine, don't worry.

 

What do yo mean "recovered" @Any Jewelry?

And what the heck is that? A parrot?

 

It used to belong to my Madurese ancestors, but it has been in other people's possession for over a century. I saw it on our equivalent of Craig's list for a more than reasonable price, and bought it.

It is based on the local turmeric flower, which unfolds when it goes from bud to bloom, much like a ginger flower or an orchid. Turmeric is used in religious ceremonies and feasts, and the flower shape gives the hilt spiritual meaning, which is important for Madurese keris.
Over the centuries the shape began to lead it's own life, and it is rarely recognizable as a turmeric flower.
Various stages on one stalk:


This is the only hilt of this type that also has a turmeric flowers carved on either side. The side I showed before is very worn, but on the other side you can still recognize the flower, like an orchid:


The traces of red pigment were a sign that this was related to my family. Red was reserved for the royal family, and once this entire hilt would have been covered in red pigment.
The traces were also a reason why it sold cheaply. The seller thought it was an accidental paint spill.

 

Hi Scoutshouse, I was just wondering if there is any update on how this restoration turned out? Did you find out any more info on the box?

 

Hi raver!

The Journal responded, but just to refer me to the author of that article, Alan Chong, now Director of the Currier Museum in Manchester NH. He didnt respond...

Other resources I'm looking at are authors of books and articles on Sri Lankan ivory caskets:

"Luxury Goods from India: The Art of the Indian Cabinet-maker" Armin Jaffer, formerly V&A Museum, Christie's

"Arts of India, 1550-1900" John Guy, Rosemary Crill, Deborah Swallow, Victoria and Albert Museum

"The local and the global: the multiple visual worlds of ivory carvers in early modern Sri Lanka" Sujatha Arundathi Meegama, mentions Jaffer's research

Thank you for asking! I just started looking around again and had left tabs open, so it was a good reminder to organize what I had found

The other examples we looked at earlier definitely look older, I think because the entire outside surfaces are pretty thin veneers - only the top is veneer on mine.

That's the biggest difference I see, otherwise the carving and motifs appear (to me) to be of that period.

I wonder why they used veneer when ivory was precious, but not so scarce? Veneer is normally used to conserve or stretch out materials in short supply.

The actual cleaning and "regluing" is on hold for the moment, but looking forward to finishing.

Thanks again for asking and all your help! I'm kind of on it!

 

Thanks for the update, @scoutshouse ! And to @808 raver for asking!

 

"I wonder why they used veneer when ivory was precious, but not so scarce? Veneer is normally used to conserve or stretch out materials in short supply" I used to think why would a maker use a veneer of burl walnut on my first class davernport desk when he could have easily made, and sold it in solid burl walnut for not that much more, it turns out this wasn't to save money on burl walnut but because of the instability of the burl walnut, so it was painstakingly cut into veneers by hand and laid onto a more stable mahogany. I also have a few ivory boxes, one is solid ivory and the others are veneers, the veneered boxes are higher quality. Perhaps these days we see construction in a different light, solid being better. Some materials such as tortoise shell, burl walnut and ivory ect do not stand the test of time without being veneered. I don't think in deeply carved ivory there's much point in backing it in wood but it would certainly help with the splitting along the grain.