This English bone set is a recent addition to the collection. With a 3.9 cm king, the set was purchased on Ebay at a reduced price as I spotted the missing lower jaw section as a repair opportunity, thus I had a go. The result has been reasonable as it was a challenge with some satisfaction. I used some old bone bases to shape the required missing jaw piece- fiddly work. When one tries this task one can only appreciate the horrible job military surgeons had in their battlefield tents -bone is tough stuff! Buying ivory is becoming rather risky if the price is highish, with re-sale extremely difficult if the sets are 20th century. A serious no-no is buying Hong Kong mid 20th century cased sets – a few are sneaking into Ebay and are best avoided. The problem with this caveat is that some sellers will not be happy hearing this sincere advice being offered. The existing ban on the sale of ivory may last for years therefore if the items are tempting to buy then make sure they are at least genuine antiques – who knows what the future will hold?
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