12 zodiac netsuke carvings. I don’t know they ivory and I hope not.
My father bought it as a set about 30 years ago
Thank you for contacting Mearto. This is a set of netsuke, possibly made of ivory. The date is unknown, but usually these kinds of pieces, if ivory, are from the Meiji period.
It is difficult for me to tell for sure if they are real from the photographs, but here is a link with ways to test ivory:
https://www.realorrepro.com/article/Ivory-genuine-fake--confusing
The needle test is useful; it will create a burnt spot, so if you do it, use a hidden area, like the interior of the hole.
Imitation ivory materials include bone and resin.
If they are ivory and you want to sell them, look into laws regarding that. I believe they vary state to state.
Below are some examples of hammer prices of similar pieces to give you an idea of the market. Authentic ivory examples are followed by resin examples. As you can see, prices vary widely. Usually, the very expensive pieces are either extremely detailed or have a known maker or provenance.
In general, if your set is real ivory, the fair market value is between $500 and $1000. If they are imitation ivory, they’d be worth between $50 to $250. I am looking at average prices, but you should take note that there are outliers.
In the estimate box at the top, I’m going to fill in the price as if they are ivory.
Real ivory:
$40
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/6801290_1196-netsuke-ivory-duck
$125
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/45262056_netsuke-ivory-carving-resting-ox-signed
$900
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/47184717_shaggy-dog-on-awabi
$2800
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/15705932_japanese-carved-ivory-netsuke-sitting-goat
$4000
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/10928048_70-contemporary-ivory-netsuke-zodiac-animals
5 for $650
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/249231_313-group-of-five-netsukes
12 for $950
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/10771928_228-ivory-netsuke-figures
11 for $300
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/11571988_2674-a-group-of-eleven-ivory-netsuke-width-of-widest
12 zodiac for $450
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/10795877_154-set-of-12-ivory-zodiac-netsuke
12 zodiac for $550
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/16823040_boxed-set-of-carved-ivory-chinese-zodiac-netsukes
12 zodiac for $1300
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/38327116_set-of-twelve-carved-ivory-netsukes
Imitation ivory:
9 for $250
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/96804148_9-carved-resin-netsuke-peabody-essex-museum-etc
14 for $35
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/15906530_lot-of-fourteen-cast-resin-netsuke
30 for $125
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/12827467_89-lot-of-thirty-carved-resin-oriental-netsuke
12 for $350
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/25277378_a-cased-set-of-12-chinese-faux-ivory-netsukes