Part 1: Controversial Collecting – What on Earth is this object made of?

Tables upon tables full of exotic trinkets and fluffy outerwear on hangers as far as the eye can see.

In my travels near and far I have embarked on a multitude of miscellaneous objects. In a few instances items have stood out begging the question, what on earth is this made of?

It may of been furry, shiny, carved, a replicate or have been the parts of a once upon a time living, breathing thing. As time has passed, enforcement has changed and certain items involving endangered species have become illegal to collect.

Antiques made from real animal and plant products are out there and some are much easier to expose than others. Taxidermy “or stuffed” animals are among the easiest to identify. Then you have those synthetic conversation pieces that even the trained eye cannot comfortably differentiate from a fake upon first glance.

Some key questions to ask yourself when your stumble across something that stumps you of this nature:

What is the item/product made of? Look for a label or ask the owner/seller

Where does this item/product come from? Look for a label or ask the owner/seller

*If you are wishing to purchase something outside of the country there are more questions to ask (we will touch on this more in a later post)

This post is Part 1 of 5 which will shed some light on how to identify objects, why you should know more about what you may see for sale and discuss the intricate details around real or fake. Have you ever seen a women wearing an oversized fur coat and asked yourself… what kind of fur is that? Is that real?

Part 2: Some key Antique & Vintage objects that have been made from animal/plants in the past