How to Care for Bone and Ivory Furniture Mounts

Bone and ivory can appear as inlay, escutcheons, knobs, plaques and stringing. Correct identification matters for conservation and current wildlife law.

Why the material is vulnerable

Both materials react to humidity and can crack, warp, stain and delaminate. Ivory trade is legally restricted even when old.

What to inspect

• Document colour, grain and structure without destructive tests.
• Check cracks, lifting and old filler.
• Inspect metal pins for corrosion.
• Record provenance and paperwork.
• Identify substitute materials.

Photograph condition and identify every material before cleaning. Check hidden and protected areas; damage often begins at edges, fixings and interfaces between unlike materials.

Safe care

Maintain stable conditions and avoid direct light and handling. Seek specialist material identification and legal guidance before sale or export.

Start with environmental correction and the least interventive method. Use clean barriers, soft tools and controlled suction only where the surface is stable. Stop if colour, flakes, fibres or corrosion products move.

Avoid

• Hot-needle or scratch testing.
• Bleach or peroxide whitening.
• Oiling yellowed material.
• Replacing losses with new ivory.
• Assuming age removes legal restrictions.

Monitoring and specialist help

Retain documentation with the object and inspect pinned areas.

Seek a conservator for active flaking, mould, structural failure, rare materials, protected wildlife products or uncertain earlier treatments.

Sources

Follow the [Canadian Conservation Institute](https://www.canada.ca/en/conservation-institute.html), [National Park Service conservation guidance](https://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/cons_toc.html) and object research in the [V&A furniture collection](https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/furniture).