Bone tusk shaped art
28 May 2021
Description

In 1949 Lady bought in China, and had shipped to Tennessee. Paid $10,000 plus shipping fees. Made out of bone tiles, with Jade, and different types of stones. tiger eye, laberenth possibly. Fence in jade at base. 6'5 tall

Provenance

Unknown

Acquired from
Other
For sale
Maybe
Answered within 4 days
By Leah I.
Jun 01, 20:52 UTC
Fair Market Value
$2,000 - $3,000 USD
Suggested Asking Price $2,500 USD
What does this mean?


Thank you for contacting Mearto and I apologize for the delay. This is a pair of tusk-shaped bone tile sculptures from China. They appear to be 20th century, based on the style. Usually, the stones in inlay work like this are soapstone and nephrite. There are bone tile sculptures on the market that sell for under $1000, although I was not able to find pieces as big as these. A pair of 40” vases sold for $600, and a set of bone tiled tusks for $2000. I have added links below.

As far as actual elephant tusks, the sales prices would be higher. I think it depends on whether these are authentic tusks or made from a different material like plaster. Looking at your pictures, I can’t know for certain. Can you see whether they are identical in shape? I think if they are not exactly the same in height/slope/etc. we can be more sure that they could be real. Another way is to try to look at the underlying material. Are there any areas where there is room between the tiles? You can ID ivory by looking at it and also with a pin test. I put a link below to a site with a description of how to identify ivory. If these are ivory, be sure to look into rules on legality if you decide to sell. There may be regulations depending on your location.

My estimate above is based on these not being ivory. Past hammer prices of authentic tusks (see links) are very scattered. Based on price per kg of ivory in 2020, the value in weight would be $5,290.



Ivory ID:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/antiquesfyi/tips/damagedone/index.html


Bone tile sculptures (various sizes)

Bone tile tusks
$2000, 41 in.
https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/bone-tiled-tusks-125-c-8655c97130

$375 bone tile sculpture (life-size, not Chinese)
https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/lifesize-bone-tiled-wood-deer-sculpture-the-stand-96-c-c0043a3a66

$250, Chinese bone tile elephants, 14 in.
https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/pair-chinese-figural-bone-elephants-bone-tiles-on-314-c-4442fac982

$600, 40 in. pair of vases, bone tile
https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/a-pair-carved-and-etched-bone-tile-floor-vases-ch-402-c-1cd4341816


Fake giant tusks:

$275
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/95231506_pr-resin-faux-ivory-elephant-tusks-63-h

$600
https://www.proxibid.com/Estate-Personal-Property/Sporting-Goods/Pair-Of-Reproduction-Elephant-Tusks-Professionally-Mounted-On-Nice-Bases/lotInformation/43240962

$1800
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/84639299_reproduction-set-of-elephant-tusks


Real tusks:

$1200
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/10213832_646-a200-1-pair-of-elephant-tusks

$2250
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/47673400_maitland-smith-tesselated-marble-elephant-tusks

$5500
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/10966085_156-2-indian-elephant-tusks-on-carved-rosewood-base

$9000
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/20117583_477-pair-of-african-ivory-old-elephant-tusks

$9500
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/19534045_pair-of-large-african-ivory-elephant-tusks-mid-20th

$14,500
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/15613114_87049-large-pair-of-african-male-elephant-tusks-in-cop

$22,500
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/19113547_elephant-tusks

$47,000
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/16342848_pair-of-monumental-ivory-elephant-tusks


Ivory prices:

The price for ivory between July and October 2018 was approximately between 210-225 USD/kg, and in the span of two years it has decreased by approxi- mately 50% to 115 USD/kg in 2020.
Source: https://wildlifejustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/WildlifeJusticeCommission_Rapid-Assessment-Of-The-Illegal-Ivory-Trade-in-2020_August2020_Spreads.pdf

Elephant tusks from Africa average about 6 feet (2 metres) in length and weigh about 50 pounds (23 kg) each
Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/ivory


23kg x 2 tusks x $115 = $5290

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