French Mother of Pearl Mandolin Inlay
You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.
Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item
When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.
- Mother-Of-Pearl - Mother-of-pearl, technical name "nacre", is the inner layer of a sea shell. The iridescent colours and strength of this material were widely used in the nineteenth century as an inlay in jewellery, furniture, (especially papier mache furniture) and musical instruments.
In the early 1900s it was used to make pearl buttons. Mother-of-pearl is a soft material that is easily cut or engraved.
Nowadays it is a by-product of the oyster, freshwater pearl mussel and abalone industries.
This item has been included into following indexes:
Visually similar items
Mandolin, 1920's Italian banjo mandolin by 'Il Globo' (faults)
A sterling silver basting spoon, London 1790
A nephrite jade and silver preserve spoon and butter knife; W. Deakin, Birmingham 1911. (2)
A set of six Georgian sterling silver dessert spoons, 1787 London, with maker's marks for William Sumner, the Old English pattern bright cut spoons with floral and pendant designs, all decorated to the finial with the engraved image of a dog on top of a Cr