09 Old new luxury leather whip Solid silver Natural sapphire

  

Found in an attic in Italy, it is part of a batch of thirteen old luxury riding crops, handmade, with a solid silver ring, braiding and leather end of Italian origin. The handles are made of precious wood: ebony, ironwood, or coconut wood also known as porcupine (the one for sale in this listing is made of coconut wood). The end of the handles is finished with a precious stone, most often (except one) set in circles of solid silver.

The stones are sapphires, in a fairly dark blue or in one case yellow, or emeralds. Each of these riding crops is a unique piece whose origin remains mysterious. They are old but new, in the sense that they have never been unpacked and used before I found them. No one knows if they were intended for sporting, erotic, or mixed use.

The silver rings have been systematically tested with acid using a touchstone, and this test has confirmed that it is indeed solid silver. The length of the riding crops is approximately 68 cm, to be confirmed (text written on a train, I need to check). Note that a circular hole has been drilled in each handle to allow the placement of handles or leather straps, but these straps are not provided with the riding crops.