Stridente Italian Mandolin, Inlaid with Mother-of-Pearl, 1920
You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.
Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item
When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.
- Circa - A Latin term meaning 'about', often used in the antique trade to give an approximate date for the piece, usually considered to be five years on either side of the circa year. Thus, circa 1900 means the piece was made about 1900, probably between 1895 and 1905. The expression is sometimes abbreviated to c.1900.
- Mother-Of-Pearl - Mother-of-pearl, technical name "nacre", is the inner layer of a sea shell. The iridescent colours and strength of this material were widely used in the nineteenth century as an inlay in jewellery, furniture, (especially papier mache furniture) and musical instruments.
In the early 1900s it was used to make pearl buttons. Mother-of-pearl is a soft material that is easily cut or engraved.
Nowadays it is a by-product of the oyster, freshwater pearl mussel and abalone industries. - Tortoiseshell - Tortoiseshell is a translucent material that comes from the horny carapace of a certain types of turtles, including the hawksbill turtle. It is often therefore mounted on a colour underground - often red - or inlaid with gold or silver thread, as seen in Boulle furniture.
The texture and colour nuances of the material are extremely important. Heated tortoiseshell can easily be formed into various shapes. Like other natural materials, tortoiseshell becomes more beautiful with use. In a time before plastic, tortoiseshell was widely used for small objects such as combs and powder compacts.
In 1973, the trade of tortoiseshell worldwide was banned under CITES (The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). Prior to importing or exporting items containing tortoiseshell a CITES permit must be obtained. Tortoiseshell items cannot be traded on Ebay.
"Faux tortoiseshell", another case of man initiating nature, is made from old-style plastics such as celluloid and cellulos and is coloured with red, yellow and brown spots to imitate the genuine article. It is commonly used in glasses frames, musical instruments and costume jewellery.
This item has been included into following indexes:
Visually similar items
A 19th century Meissen porcelain figure, of a woman in 18th century dress playing a spinet, blue crossed swords mark, impressed numbers and incised marks. Height 12 cm
A late Victorian embossed silver handled and ivory long page turner, the parallel sided ivory blade with small chippings to the curved end, the leaf, floral and scroll handle with small loss, glue evident at fitting. Birmingham 1892. Length 42.5 cm
A George III silver lidded tankard/jug, tapered cylindrical body with an encircling band of gadroon embossed decoration, a similar lobed band to the base, ring stepped flared foot, the domed cover with conforming embossed decoration, scroll thumb piece, th
Australian sterling silver 'Melbourne Amateur Regatta' beaker with a gilt wash interior, inscribed with the coat of arms of the city of Melbourne 'Vires Acquirit Eundo' to one side & to the other 'Melbourne Amateur Regatta Estab. 1903 1912 Maiden Eights wo