Ivory: look-alikes and how to tell
Short answer
Ivory is commonly confused with bone, vegetable ivory (tagua), celluloid ("French ivory"), resin.
The species (elephant, mammoth, hippopotamus, walrus, sperm whale…; for elephant and mammoth it depends on the angle of the lines, which must be measured) and the age of the piece, the two things the law turns on.
Look-alikes
- bone
- vegetable ivory (tagua)
- celluloid ("French ivory")
- resin
What to look at
On a cross-section, Schreger lines (cross-hatching) indicate elephant or mammoth ivory; dark pits and channels mean bone; perfectly parallel grain means celluloid.
What settles it
- 10× loupe on a cut surface that already exists (the base); do not cut or sand anything. Absence of lines does not rule out ivory.
- To sell: a specialist and, where the law requires, a certificate or registration.
Rules on selling it
If it is elephant ivory, selling it is banned or tightly restricted in the UK and the US, even when antique. Before listing it, check which exemption applies to you.
- UK. Ivory Act 2018, in force since 6 June 2022 and extended on 28 January 2025 to hippopotamus, sperm whale, narwhal and killer whale: dealing in ivory is banned except for registered exemptions (items made before 3 March 1947 with less than 10% ivory by volume, all of it integral to the item; portrait miniatures made before 1918 under 320 cm²; musical instruments made before 1975 with less than 20%) or certified ones (pre-1918 items of outstandingly high artistic, cultural or historical value). Ivory Act 2018 / GOV.UK
- US. 2016 federal rule (50 CFR 17.40(e)): interstate commerce in African elephant ivory is banned except for antiques over a hundred years old that meet the Endangered Species Act, or items with a de minimis amount (under 200 grams, among other conditions). Several states also have their own, stricter bans. US Fish & Wildlife Service
This is a summary of public rules, not legal advice; they change.
Frequently asked
What can ivory be mistaken for?
bone; vegetable ivory (tagua); celluloid ("French ivory"); resin.
How can I tell ivory from its look-alikes?
10× loupe on a cut surface that already exists (the base); do not cut or sand anything. Absence of lines does not rule out ivory. To sell: a specialist and, where the law requires, a certificate or registration.