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 had miraculously not deteriorated over time. A colleague brought to our attention a similar pair in his collection by Charriere that were marked “IVOIRE FLEXIBLE”.  Apparently, Charriere had patented  a process for making ivory flexible. 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.”