Thread: Identifying Ebony

It looks like ebony to me; I've turned some ebony, the end of it looked very similar to the bottom end of the carving.

Originally Posted by GoGuppy

It looks like ebony to me; I've turned some ebony, the end of it looked very similar to the bottom end of the carving.

Thank you GoGuppy ... it was suggested that the ultimate test would be to put it in a bucket of water and see if it doesn't float. A bit loath to do that.
Now all I need to do is find out what it's worth - I think it's a one of a kind. And what to do with it when I fall off the twig!

The Pacifc Ebony and the importance of ecological knowledge – Biodiversity in Oceania (biodiversityoceania.com)

"The first step was to determine the species that was producing the ebony wood, which he found to be Diospyros samoensis, the Pacific Ebony."

CSIRO PUBLISHING | Pacific Conservation Biology


"Ebony wood, the black heartwood of trees in the genus Diospyros, is a high-value commodity of many Pacific Islands. The revenue earned from the sale of ebony carvings is important for many low-income rural communities, resulting in high harvesting pressure and reported declines of ebony-producing species."

There is also Diospyros vera.

Originally Posted by olmeri

Thank you GoGuppy ... it was suggested that the ultimate test would be to put it in a bucket of water and see if it doesn't float. A bit loath to do that.
Now all I need to do is find out what it's worth - I think it's a one of a kind. And what to do with it when I fall off the twig!

Clear ebony for luthier work and knife making handles costs about 10c a gram on ebay so based on that at most its worth $75.
Up to a certain size smaller piece timber always cost more per unit weight than large pieces so my guess is its worth as ebony is about $50.

Dunking it in water won't hurt it - its wood.
But if it floats it could still be ebony - it could be due to the holy personage depicted in the wood

Not all ebony has a specific gravity greater than 1.0. There are several here that you can compare to your piece: Wood Filter | The Wood Database

Claude

does not look like Ebony, she was a young mans heart throb and had legs that went forever.

Late to the party, but FWIW, there's a good chance it is ebony, unless it's been hollowed out and filled with lead.
When I was in Bougainville in the mid-'70s, there were a lot of carvings around that were just coloured with boot polish, but they were always noticeably light weight.. However, there were a few carved from Pacific ebony, generally of higher quality.

I've got some 'boot polished' carvings from Bali and the colouring wouldn't go deeper than 1mm, so if you've cut 5mm off part of the base and it's still black, I would reckon real ebony is a fair bet!
I've got several species of ebony in my collection and they all look just like your pics.