I travel often in Asia and like to check out handicraft shops in whatever country I am visiting. I am particularly interested in hand carvings, the finer the detail the better. Very often in these shops, I come across nice handicrafts made with carved or inlaid bone. I know that in previous decades these would have been made in ivory, but with the ban on ivory trade this is now illegal. I realise that due to cost considerations if nothing else, the chance of them passing off ivory as bone is highly unlikely. But still, it would be good to know so I don’t have any unpleasant surprises at customs…
So out of curiosity, how would you tell the difference between ivory and bone? Is it a question of the color? The grain? How they age? Cracking?
[For the Mods: This question is purely out of technical interest, and I have no intention whatsoever to promote the trafficking of ivory with the United States or elsewhere!]