Lynn,
Your questions are interesting, but lack detail.  Ivory covers a lot of
cultural territory.  Where are these pieces from?  Are they solid?  Veneer?
Splits should not be filled. Ivory is hygroscopic.  It moves in response
to changes in relative humidity.  Fills become wedges, and wedges extend
splits.  Clean debris from within splits, and let it do what it will; it
should not get much worse, and may get better.

Epoxy adhesives work well for joining broken bits.  Read the directions
and follow them.

over time.  It may be best to leave such losses alone, and accept them as
part of the life history of the artifact(s).


Cleaning and re-patination (if required) is a troublesome arena for
debate.  Once again, not enough information was included in the posting.

Jack C. Thompson
Thompson Conservation Lab
Portland, OR
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On Wed, 13 Sep 1995, Lynn Wageler wrote:

>                 Hello, I have several pieces of ivory which need to be
> restored and I would appreciate any advice anyone can offer.
>
>                 Several of the pieces have stains (origin unknown),
> another piece has been chewed by rodents (should I use filler?  What
> type?; one piece has been split (is it possible to repair this?  What
> adhesive is appropriate?); the patina is gone; and two pieces are badly
> stained by tobacco smoke.
>
>                 So far, in the few readings I have managed to find, I
> have been advised to use Ivory detergent and Q-tips and never to use bleach.
>
>                 Thank you in advance,
>
>
>                 Lynn Wageler
>