Faux ivory is any material made or used to imitate ivory, including celluloid and other early plastics sold under names such as ivorine and French ivory, bone, resin, cast composition, and vegetable ivory made from the hard seed of the tagua palm. These substitutes were produced to provide the appearance of ivory at a lower cost, and they were widely used for dressing-table sets, piano keys, knife handles, figures, boxes and jewellery.
Celluloid became especially common from the late nineteenth century and was often given a striated grain to resemble real ivory. Vegetable ivory was carved into buttons, thimbles and small souvenirs, while bone was used for handles, games pieces and inlay. Telling faux ivory from genuine ivory matters greatly today, because sale of elephant ivory in the UK is heavily restricted under the Ivory Act 2018, with only limited exemptions. Experienced dealers look at grain patterns, weight, translucency, colour and the way a material has aged; ivory shows characteristic crosshatched lines in section, bone shows small dark pores, and celluloid often has regular parallel lines. When in doubt, specialist advice should be sought before buying, selling or exporting.
