Wallet with 40,000 Baht Returned to Owner After Being Lost at Khao Kheow Open Zoo

[rabas]

I love Asian wood and have a few pieces at home.  Two are made from Ebony native to their country of origin, Indonesia and Vietnam. I know the common trade names and the scientific names.  Does anyone know the Thai names for these woods? Any help much appreciated.

 

1. A hand carved Haunman statue from Indonesia made of Macassar Ebony (diospyros celebica), which comes from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

2. An inlaid table from Vietnam made of Mun Ebony (diospyros mun). Mun Ebony is predominantly from Vietnam.

 

The two woods look similar with bold black and brown striping.  Macassar ebony is slightly harder than black African ebony.

Here is an image of the statue for reference.  The statue is 82 cm tall and weighs 20 kg.

 

Edited September 11 by rabas

[1FinickyOne]

I can't tell from the photo = but 

 

mai Daeng = is a reddish wood I think mostly from Malaysia??

 

mai sak = teak 

[bradiston]

2 hours ago, 1FinickyOne said:

I can't tell from the photo = but 

 

mai Daeng = is a reddish wood I think mostly from Malaysia??

 

mai sak = teak 

Neither of which is a species of ebony!

 

Maybe try here:

 

http://www.tropicaltimber.info/specie/black-ebony-diospyros-pilosanthera/

 

It lists a lot of different names for ebony from all round the world. It looks like Laos has some interesting outlets for beautiful carved ebony. They might be useful too:

 

https://carusocreations.com/en/

 

I bought a set of 3 seated Buddhas in Yangon years ago that the seller said were ebony. They are brown striped pieces. But I suspect they are resin moulds. The detail and colouring is amazing, whatever they're made from. I think there maybe a lot of fakes around. I don't know how to tell. I tried drilling a very small hole in the base of one, but it was inconclusive. Any ideas how to test for authenticity?

Edited September 19 by bradiston

[kickstart]

A look my Thai dictiony and asking the wife, I think Ebony in Thai is Mai -Ma --Glua.

 

[bradiston]

3 hours ago, kickstart said:

A look my Thai dictiony and asking the wife, I think Ebony in Thai is Mai -Ma --Glua.

 

That's a bit obvious. I think he was looking for Thai words for different species of ebony.

[captnhoy]

Tagging on, not hijacking I hope - is mai daeng what we call mahogany? That's my best guess anyway.

[rabas]

On 9/19/2024 at 9:06 PM, kickstart said:

A look my Thai dictiony and asking the wife, I think Ebony in Thai is Mai -Ma --Glua.

 

Yes, I see it now. My old hardbound Thai dictionary translates ebony as: "mai-khaeng-see-dam, for example mai-ma-glua." or  "black hardwood for example mai-ma-glua".   From there, mai-ma-glua's  scientific name is Diospyros mollis.

 

It seems mai-ma-glua refers to a specific type of Thai ebony tree with almost all black wood known for its persimmon fruit and medicinal properties. Ma Glua: Thai persimmon trees and medicines: (language selectable)  But I've never seen this type of black Ebony for sale in Thailand.

 

Mai-khaeng-see-dam may refer to ebony woods in general.  So to describe an Indonesian ebony to a Thai it may be best to say  "Mai-khaeng-see-dam from Indonesia called Macassar Ebony" (in my case). 

 

Thanks.

[rabas]

On 9/20/2024 at 1:13 AM, captnhoy said:

Tagging on, not hijacking I hope - is mai daeng what we call mahogany? That's my best guess anyway.

 

No. Mahogany has a density of  0.55 - 0.80 and Janka hardness of 800. It's common to Central/ South America and Africa's west coast.

 

Mai daeng, trade name: Pyinkado (Xylia xylocarpa) is a SE Asian hardwood common in Thailand.  It has a density up to 1.15 (sinks) and Janka hardness of 1950. 

 

For reference, Macassar Ebony has a Janka hardness of 3320. Ebonies are very hard.

 

Edited September 21 by rabas

[sometimewoodworker]

3 hours ago, rabas said:

No. Mahogany has a density of  0.55 - 0.80 and Janka hardness of 800. It's common to Central/ South America and Africa's west coast.

 

There are a very large number of wood species from many countries all called Mahogany so unless you are specifying by the latin name it is hard, if not impossible, to say that a particular wood is not Mahogany

[kickstart]

The Thai's use the English name for Mahogany, with an ascent on the word.

I have some Mahogany, and Mie Dang, both very dry, and old, I use for wood turning, the Mahogany is hard, but the Mie Dang, red wood is a lot harder. 

As for finding Mahogany for sale ,looking around our local wood yards ,that sell both new and old  timber ,the old wood mainly comes from old Thai houses ,never seen any Mahogany, have asked but always ,no, I would say it was chopped down and exported  years ago ,basically non left ,I know of a few hard wood plantations in our area ,they have some mahogany trees growing, but it will be out grand/great grandchildren that will see the results of that. 

Mi -Khaeng -See-Dum ,I would translate as black hard wood, which could relate to Ebony.