Pair of German carved ivory figures of peasant women

This pair of ivory figures was crafted in Germany during the 19^th Century. The ivories represent two old peasant women: one, standing with hunched shoulders and hands clasped before her belly, wears ragged, torn clothing; the other, also wearing decrepit clothing, carries a loaf of bread in the folds of her skirt. The ivory figures are exceptionally finely carved, with the minutest of details expertly represented. Both are raised on tooled ebonised wood pedestals.