LECTURES

‘AN INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIC GEMS, AMBER, IVORY AND OTHERS ‘
Gem materials such as amber, pearl, ivory and tortoiseshell have been used for many centuries as adornment – both personal adornment in the form of jewellery, and for decorating our surroundings as carvings and furniture inlay.
The talk will be an introduction to the different materials and their various uses, and touch on their origins. Mention will also be made of current trade bans, and how to identify some fakes.

‘AMBER — PAST USES AND PRESENT FAKES’
The talk will concentrate on amber, looking at the different types to be found world-wide. Mention will be made of how amber forms, and its history. Some tips will be given on how to recognise and avoid fakes.

‘IVORY AND TORTOISESHELL — PAST USES TO PRESENT BANS’
Ivory and tortoiseshell are two organic gem materials that have often been used together, and that today share very similar trade bans.
This talk will look at the use of the two materials through the ages, the animals from which the two materials are derived, and how to recognise fakes.

‘A DEWDROP FROM HEAVEN — PEARLS AND SHELLS’
The use of shell goes back thousands of years, and pearls have been highly valued for hundreds of years.
The talk looks at old and modern uses of pearls and shells. Mention will be made of how they form, and how pearls are cultured, or faked.

 

'FEATHERS, HORNS, AND TURTLE SHELLS'

Feathers, horn, and turtle shell (toroiseshell) are different forms of the same material, and all have been used for thousands of years as adornment, both of ourselves and our surroundings. They have sometimes signified status -- as in tribal chiefs' head-dresses, and also been pure luxury -- as in tortoiseshell-veneered furniture.

‘IVORIES’
Ivory has been carved for 40,000 years. It has been used by cultures world-wide.
The talk will look at some of the uses of ivory, and how to recognise ivories from different species, for example elephant, walrus and whale — and their fakes.
Mention will also be made of the current trade bans covering ivories.

FROM FROZEN FORESTS TO REINDEER — GEMS FROM LIFE’
(Christmas lecture)
This talk is an introduction to organic gem materials, similar to the first talk listed above, but, with the use of illustrations appropriate to the time of year, it is given a seasonal slant.

NOTE
All lectures are richly illustrated with high quality photographs from museum and private collections. Where appropriate, close-up photographs showing detail are used.