Vintage Greta Fur Purse - Tiger?

[applesandarsenic]

Hi!
I found this purse this morning and haven't a clue what the fur/skin is!

It's made by Greta. I found a Zebra skin bag made by them online and also a lizard skin bag so I believe they worked with exotics often. The dealer I bought it from thought it was antelope or gazelle. The fur/hair seems longer and softer then I would expect from those types of animals. My thought was tiger or a large cat.
Would appreciate any help!

Thanks!
Andrew

Thanks!

 

[retro ruth]

Hi Andrew

Bumping this up in case anyone can help with fur ID.

Also, if it is one of the big cats, or another endangered species, be aware it will be almost impossible to sell because of endangered species regulations.

 

[furwise]

Hi, I do not have experience with Tigers other than seeing photos, studying the various patterns of wild cats, and reading. The coloring and striped pattern of the fur on your handbag does match that of Tiger. Tiger fur can have long or shorter guardhair depending on the region it's from but all tigers have a shorter soft downy like undercoat of fur. Interestingly tiger skin is also striped just like the fur.
You can feel within the fur for that shorter downy underfur and pull the furs apart to see if the skin is striped as well. If there is no shorter soft downy like underfur and/or if the skin underneath is not striped then it is not tiger.
Other fur types are sometimes stenciled or dyed to mimic tiger. If the fur is not tiger and was stenciled or tip dyed to look like tiger the stripes will only be within the fur. If the fur was fully dyed or if the fur is genuine tiger then the striped pattern will be on the skin also.

 

[applesandarsenic]

Thanks for all the help!

I looked at the bag again, and there are "downy" undercoat hairs. Two distinctly different types of fur. As for the stripes on the skin, it's so hard to tell. The fur is very tight and full, and just can't say for certain there are stripes.
The bag is large, 15.5" x 6.5", so the animal must have been as well for the stripes to be so bold. I've had and held many pieces of dyed fur and can say for certain this is not one.

Maybe a taxidermist could help me out?

 

[furwise]

You are most welcome. If you are certain that the fur is not dyed I would suspect that it is genuine tiger fur as the tiger pattern would only be replicated if the fur was dyed. If you have a local furrier they would be able to tell you if the fur was dyed for certain and they would also be able to positively id it for you however they might charge you a fee to do so. A taxidermist if you have one local might be able to tell you for certain too. The size you described of the handbag would be smaller than the hide of a tiger but would be about the size of a rabbit hide. That does not mean that it is not Tiger whereas only part of the hide may have been used and it does not mean it is rabbit where the entire hide minus the nose and rump would have been used. Rabbit fur does have a soft downy underfur as well and the guardhairs are longer, thin, and soft.