By now most all know of the original ivories being used belong to elephant's teeth and tusks or the woolly mammoth's teeth and tusks, but what about some of the other natural forms of ivory? One of the first on the list of natural ivory suppliers of yesterday and today is the Walrus's tusks and teeth. The Pacific Walrus is able to grow their tusks to the average size in length of around 5-cm. The tusks of a Walrus are elongated and the teeth are irregularly round in shape. The other very popular ivory giving animal of today and yesterday is the Helmeted Hornbill.
By now most all know of the original ivories being used belong to elephant's teeth and tusks or the woolly mammoth's teeth and tusks, but what about some of the other natural forms of ivory? Where else does one of our most beautifully precious and artistic commodities actually come from besides the elephants (now illegal) or the limited number of extinct woolly mammoth? The answers to these curious ivory questions may surprise you in how many other of our animals today give us the natural beauty of ivory.
One of the first on the list of natural ivory suppliers of yesterday and today is the Walrus's tusks and teeth. The Pacific Walrus is able to grow their tusks to the average size in length of around 5-cm. The tusks of a Walrus are elongated and the teeth are irregularly round in shape. As the Walrus grows from youth to adult size and age, the tusk coating of enamel will were away, and the oval shaped tusks will overtime have certain specific formations of cracks throughout the tusks.
The Artic regions of humanity have long used walrus since the times of prehistoric human existence. Some of the cultures that are most well-known for ivory engraving and carving of the Walrus's tusks and teeth are the Inuit clans of North America and Greenland, and the Koryak and Chukchi clans that lived roamed and lived throughout the continent of Russia.
Another unusual means to ivory of past and present is the Warthog. The common warthog is of the pig family branch and has long lived throughout many parts of Africa. The Warthogs are the approximate size of 3 feet to 5 feet in overall body length and have the average weight of a little over a 100 pounds to slightly beyond 300 pounds. Not only do they have more than one pair of tusks, but the two teeth are used for defense and digging mechanisms for their survival. It is the upper protruding teeth that can reach up to 9 inches in length, with the lower set being of the shorter status.
The other very popular ivory giving animal of today and yesterday is the Helmeted Hornbill. The Helmeted Hornbill is a very large bird deriving from the islands of Sumatra, Malay and Borneo. Although there are many centuries of the native peoples with a very long history of carving objects out of the Hornbill, Hornbill ivory has also been historically connected with China's Ming Dynasty, along with the historical Japanese cultural artistic means of an ideal Netsuke carving material that goes as far back as 300 years ago.
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Mammoth ivory netsuke
By: vikk0408 | 26-01-2008
Thank you for the article. Is it worth collecting netsuke made of mammoth ivory? Are there an precautions a new collector should take?
Shunga erotic tiles?
By: Hinkley | 20-01-2008
We were given a set of ten tiles told they were ivory/bone and there are erotic drawings on both sides. They were strung together at the top and bottom Each tile is approximately 1"x3". Any idea what they are. I cannot find anything on tiles.
Looking for web sites for the Jewish community in ...
By: yuvalpo | 25-11-2007
Looking for web sites for the Jewish community in the US in which one can offer her handcraft products for sell.
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