Dear Randy,
Are you sure this is ivory? It looks more like antler or something
else. It looks like a portion of a composite artifact of some type,
but bears no resemblance to any artifact of sewing & needlework, or
accessory for these activities, that I have ever seen (and I've just
written a book on the artifacts of needlework & sewing--just meaning
over the past 8 years). There are some good sources on use of bone,
horn, & antler, the best being
MacGregor, Arthur. 1985. Bone, Antler, Ivory and Horn: The
Technology of Skeletal Materials Since the Roman Period. Croom Helm,
London.
I found a copy in the University of Delaware library so if you
cannot find it locally you might get it on interlibrary loan.
Cheers,
Mary B.
--
Mary C. Beaudry, PhD, RPA
Associate Professor of Archaeology & Anthropology
Boston University
675 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215 USA
tel. 617-358-1650
fax 617-353-6800
email: [log in to unmask]
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