What kind of material is this?

Thanks, Mike

-- The hard work won't take too long, the impossible will take a little longer

I don’t know but it is very ornate. First thought it looked oriental but perhaps the Americas’. Try posting it as a forum topic or a blog, you might get a wider response.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

One can only guess, it appears like a burl and with it ornate appearance I would guess from a island. So my guess is Kona from the south pacific…BC

I believe it is urea-formaldehyde. Had a short run in the 1920-1930’s, but discontinued due to toxicity as the resin cured. Sometimes wood fibers and dust filler was used to get colors and textures which mimicked wood grain. Developed in the same time period as Bakelite, which was not toxic. Guess which one made into the mainstream. If it is urea-formaldehyde… THAT salt shaker is worth a lot more than you think. My back ground is Industrial Design, my mind is filled with trinket of knowledge like this.. which I thought useless. If i am right maybe $60 grand of education was worth it… LOL.

-- the sacrifice of one's ego is the greatest gift to someone you respect

What if you are wrong? 60k down the tube? :-))

-- "some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence

This is possibly soy bean, back around this time, before plastic was made from petroleum, soy bean was being developed into a plastic also. If you remember some of the older cars had a pinkish brown knobs on steering wheel, window crank handles, etc. Those were made from soy bean. EPJartisan might be right also, definitely worth checking into. Good luck.

-- Dan Wiggins

Might be hapa wood. Lots of small tiki trinkets made from it.

-- Daniel

I vote for Bakelite.

-- The only thing wrong with instant gratification is that it's not fast enough. Bake, Bar Lazy U Woodworks, Lehi,UT.

Did you ever find out more about it?

-- Mother Nature talks, I try to listen

I would say it is either bakelite or soybean. It is artificial and definitely not any type of wood. But to be honest i’m not sure and it really doesn’t matter to me anymore lol

-- The hard work won't take too long, the impossible will take a little longer