Description

A pair of boxwood nipple shields with flexible ivory nipples. When we acquired the shields, our assumption was that the nipples were rubber that miraculously had not deteriorated over time. A colleague brought to our attention a similar pair in his collection that were marked “IVOIRE FLEXIBLE”, using a process that had been patented by Charriere, and indicated  that they should be soaked and washed in cold water, presumably after use–see last image. We’ve not been able to establish a date for this patent. The pair we are offering are not marked but may well be a product of the Charriere workshop An AI search yielded the following:

 Another method, though not explicitly attributed to him, used phosphoric acid to make ivory soft and translucent, a process that could also contribute to making it more pliable.”