Hi,
I am not sure why this thread became a bit acrimonious. Mother of Pearl is often found on 16th, 17th and a few 18th century European firearms. It was used occasionally as decoration on Germanic jaegers but more often on French, Belgian, and Dutch firearms, ancestors of rifles and fowlers made in America. Jon's essay on inlaying MOP is also very applicable when inlaying bone or ivory. Both of those materials are brittle and pose the same difficulties as MOP. Jon's thread is entirely appropriate and should be helpful.
For you ivory fanciers out there, let me relate a little historical tale. During the late middle ages (1300s) in Europe, carved ivory figures and plaques on furniture were the rage among the well heeled. The French had a monopoly on ivory carvings and they kept the prices very high. In Italy, an aristocrat and military officer, who was also an artisan (rare trait among aristocrats) named Baldassare Embriachi discovered that common cow bone could be carved just as nicely as ivory, cracked less, and did not yellow like ivory. In fact, it was a better material in almost every way and was also dirt cheap. From that discovery, he created workshops that produced boxes, alters, book covers, saddles, etc decorated with carved bone. Because of the abundant supply of bone, Embriachi created multiple lines of products catering to customers in many income brackets. He had Chevies, Buicks, and Cadillacs. He became very wealthy and his family business survived for several centuries. Probably every major museum of art in Europe and North America has a collection of Embriachi products as well as ivory carvings. The ivory has yellowed and cracked with age but the Embriachi bone works are white and shiny as if new.
dave
