European Hand Carved Figural Ivory Page Turner/Cutter

Antiques : Misc. Items

 

This delightful 19th. century ivory lady was a page turner/page cutter. For those of you not familiar with her purpose here is a short explanation. They would use page turners to keep antique manuscripts/books free from hand oil & soil while reading. Today our books have individual pages. In previous centuries the pages were continuous runs of paper that required a page cutter to slice the outer vertical side of the pages. Our lady is of lovely quality & condition. She has stunning detail in her carving. Look at that sweet face with well defined facial features. Note all of that work in her dress, hat, curly hair & graceful hands. The carver even went that extra mile to put swirling leaves & floral motif at her base including a presentation area for initials. The presentation area was never carved. The figural area is in excellent condition. If she has any chips they are very small & were a long time ago as the ivory has no color disruption evidence of chipping. She is an all over wonderful rich cream with areas of a darker butterscotch color. The figural portion of the piece does have normal age cracks as seen in photos but the piece is firmly intact! The blade is all intact with it's graceful, original thinning down to blade base. I took a piece of paper & did a well defined crease. The blade still does an excellent cut with some slight hesitation while cutting. You can find the expected tiny nicks along the blade's rim from usage. The largest being on the backside of base of blade that is approx. 1/32". We find no repairs or buffing on the piece. The entire piece is approx. 12 3/8" tall. From the top of her hat to the start of the blade is 4 11/16". She is approx 1 3/8" at the widest point which is thru her lower hand's fingers. The blade is 1 5/8" thru it's widest point. At her deepest point thru her hat is 3/4". We believe her to be of German origin & circa 1875. A stunning piece for an ivory or desk accessory collection. ***** INTERNATIONAL BUYERS: Please make sure ivory is not a prohibited import into your country. We will not take responsibility for confiscation of the piece.*****

Item ID: 550

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