Object of the Day: Osborne Ivorex, 1899

This remarkable antique was given to me this past Sunday for my birthday. It’s an example of “Osborne Ivorex.” Created by English bas relief sculptor, Arthur Osborne in 1899, Osborne Ivorex plaques are made of the finest plaster of Paris to resemble ivory carvings.


A master plaque of a scene (usually inspired by famous landscapes or postcard images) would be sculpted in clay, then; a gelatin mold would be formed around the clay plaque. Once the mold had hardened, it was used for the production of the plaster plaques which were hand-painted in great detail.

Many of the plaques were set into custom-built, black lacquer shadow boxes with brown velvet slips. These were considered the most prestigious of the Osborne Ivorex line. And, here’s one of them.

This Ivorex plaque shows a bas relief scene of Holyrood Palace (also known as Holyroodhouse) in Edinburgh, Scotland—the official seat of the sovereign in Scotland. As you can see, the casting is quite detailed and has an amazing sense of depth to it.

I had never seen one of these in person before and it really caught my attention when I saw it. A little research revealed that it was Osborne Ivorex. The Arthur Osborne Company continued to produce Ivorex well into 1965. Now, of course, I’m tempted to find some more of these.