WORKING OF IVORY 261 



cleaning will remove the genuine patina from a true an- 

 tique, leaving it of an unpleasant modern whiteness. Of 

 course celluloid imitations are very easily detected, either 

 by the camphory odour they emit or by their inflammability.* 

 A leading American miniature painter states that the 

 best dealers now furnish ivory sheets with the surface al- 

 ready prepared for painting in a manner much better than 

 the ordinary novice can accomplish. However, if the 

 painter desires to treat the material without trusting to the 

 aid of the dealer, the best means of so doing is to tack the 

 ivory sheet securely to a board to prevent it from warping, 

 and then apply powdered pumice stone to the surface gently 

 with a damp handkerchief . The powder should be plenti- 

 fully used, first damp and then dry, until every trace of 

 grease, or roughness, has been removed, so that the paint 

 will flow freely and evenly. It sometimes happens in the 

 process of painting that a part of the surface becomes 

 greasy; in this case a little dry pumice powder, dusted over 

 the spot with the tip of the finger, will generally suffice to 

 correct the defect. The artist should determine the required 

 size of his ivory before beginning to paint, and draw the 

 precise shape on the ivory sheet, which is then to be im- 

 mersed in perfectly clear, lukewarm water until the mate- 

 rial becomes soft, when it can be easily and safely cut with 

 a small pair of sharp scissors; if cut while dry the ivory may 

 split and be irreparably damaged. However, an oval may 

 be cut out with comparative safety, even when the ivory 

 is dry, if care be taken to cut to the middle of the top and 

 bottom of the oval, respectively, and always to follow the 

 grain. Should it be necessary to cut the finished painting, 

 a very sharp graver's tool is the safest instrument to use, 

 the ivory being laid on some flat, hard surface and the part 

 not being cut covered with a thick piece of paper so that 



*Emile-Bayard, "L'Art de reconnoitre les fraudes," Paris, 1914, pp. 189, 190. 



