Posted By: Jack
Posted Date: Jan 22, 2010 (09:41 AM)
Bill,
Thank you for your comments.
I've posted a close up of the "tiles" (for want of a better word) to show the grain. The grain doesn't resemble the cross-hatched grain of ivory nor the pitted surface of bone. It does, however, appear similar to the grain of synthetic material that I've seen photos of but, at the same time, somewhat resembles the grain of some species of seashell. Perhaps you can comment on the material.
Your first comment ("a lot of these decorative ivory-substitute models have been made and marketed since the last quarter of the 20th century") seems to imply that I should be able to find lots of these types of figurines on the internet but I have only found two elephants, of the same size and technique, offered by a dealer. I've emailed the dealer but no response yet.
I've posted photos.
The first elephant has no nail heads and the tiles are identical to the tiles on my lion and the matched pair of horses.
The second elephant with nails heads showing has tiles that are identical to the tiles on the prancing horse.
The first elephant has no ears but the second elephant has ears that would seem to indicate India or Asia, but not Africa.
Any additional comments would be greatly appreciated.
