Bone Sphere

[Jfitzbby]

My grandpa gave this to me. I have no clue what is/where it came from. There is a sticker along the bottom edge that says "40638 Bone Sphere" and then "$64.00" both hand written. Underneath is black felt.
Weighs 3 pounds
17inches tall

[Jfitzbby]

sorry, way new at this. Here are pictures also.

[wendy177]

Looks to be simply a decorative piece. Would not hold a value of $64.00 in today's market, No great value unless the base was silver & would be marked as such.

[Jfitzbby]

Thank you Wendy! How would I be able to tell if the sphere is really made of bone, and maybe even what kind? It feels like plastic, but I guess I have nothing to compare it to because I've never held a bone before. First post on here so I didn't really know what to expect/how to format. I'm not worried about the value, but its nice to know a little bit about this; could be a good convo piece.

[Rauville]

I wonder if these were promoted as some type of "new age healing aid", similar to the crystal spheres that are sold today?

(If I were to check it for being bone, I would use the "hot needle test". Carefully heat a sewing needle, held with a pair of pliers, and apply the tip of the needle to a point on the underside of the sphere. Plastic will melt, bone will not.)

[wendy177]

This may help you to be able to tell if the sphere is really made of bone.

http://www.antique-shop.com/forums/index.php?topic=6485.0

[KC]

Nice piece.

We have had requests about these "bone orbs" before on the forum.

You can get spheres of "resin" and "plastic" ( which so many mistake as bone0 as simple orbs, mounted on pedestals, etc. these days.  They are, and have been for the past 30 years, a decorative "must" for top end home design. They are often called a cabochon (from the french word  meaning "knobbed/sphere'd" and originally referred to a cut stone) Small simple orbs start at $5 to $20 where the larger and more ornate versions can vary up to $80.

Great piece of advice from Wendy177 to figure out if it is real bone.  I am betting that it isn't.

The piece (metal part) looks modern and that this was definitely made for decorative purposes.

[Jfitzbby]

Thank you all for great ideas! I tried the needle test and it didn't melt like plastic would. It didn't do anything actually. No puff of smoke or discoloration or..anything. The needle just stayed on the surface. Hmm. Well, at least it is a neat looking decoration!