This comes from Daniel Lassanske's collection. It was listed as "Antique 19th Century Hand carved spinning top toy ivory/bone." The description said: "It is made of a precious ivory colored material that has a grain like wood." I bought it mainly because Daniel's daughter described it as "the best example of the type that I have seen", and of course she has seen a great sample of tops
For the sake of bidding I assumed it was bone, but I had a suspicion it was ivory from what I could discern on the photos. In effect, when I got it, it became obvious to me that it was ivory, and not just any ivory (e.g. whale) but from either an elephant or a mammoth (the crosshatch Schreger lines at the top and bottom are too close to 90 degrees in this case to tell them apart). I don't think mammoth tusks were carved in the 19th century, so it must be elephant ivory. Actually, although the whistling window was carved, I'm sure the rest was turned. I count 10 different pieces glued together, although most of the body is just one piece.
When I spun it with the fingers I was pleasantly surprised that it's very well balanced, knowing that it might have never been spun since purchased. It didn't come with the launcher so I 3D printed a small launcher/pedestal. I wasn't very hopeful that it would have good sound, specially considering that it's a piece made for display not for play. Boy, was I surprised at how loud it is!
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Topic: Share your latest spintop acquisition!! (Read 63037 times)