From Procuring To Carving Mammoth Ivory
Some of the tusk pieces are perfect for carving out knife and gun handles, scrimshaws, chess pieces, pool cues. Traders dealing with procurement and selling of mammoth ivory adhere to strict international standards and guidelines relating to the trade. The international trade in ivory had suffered a setback after the ban on elephant ivory but mammoth ivory is the only natural ivory that can replace elephant ivory due to near similar structure and texture. Generally, the male tusks are bigger, heavier and longer than the female tusks, while baby mammoth tusks are rare finds. Mammoth ivory is eco friendly, natural material that is in limited supply so buying a piece of ivory is like owning a piece of our past, when our ancestors roamed the regions with these Woolly creatures.
By the end of the last Ice age, the complete species of Woolly mammoths got annihilated while the fossilized remains have remained in the cold regions of Europe, Asia and North America. The area of movement of these shaggy beasts was across the land bridge that still exists between Alaska and Siberia. Parts of Yukon and Alaska were ice free during that time and the ivory tusks are still obtained from these areas.
Tusks which are in good condition are sold in their original form while the chunks, broken pieces are finished, polished or sold raw to collectors as decorations or to work upon by artists and carvers. Some of the tusk pieces are perfect for carving out knife and gun handles, scrimshaws, chess pieces, pool cues. The shavings are used as inlay in different material while the expertise of the skilled craftsmen is being utilized to the full limit even after the closure of the elephant ivory trade.
Traders dealing with procurement and selling of mammoth ivory adhere to strict international standards and guidelines relating to the trade. The international trade in ivory had suffered a setback after the ban on elephant ivory but mammoth ivory is the only natural ivory that can replace elephant ivory due to near similar structure and texture.
Going into the intricacies of the this unique trade, there are different varieties of grades and sizes of ivory available ranging from huge tusks to thin chips, rough chunks to polished pieces. Different artists and carvers require a different size and quality. Although tusks are known to be heavy and can reach lengths of 16 feet, tusks over 60 kilos are rare, there are instances of some which have weighted 80 kilos also. Generally, the male tusks are bigger, heavier and longer than the female tusks, while baby mammoth tusks are rare finds.
Finding a matched pair are unique and often the best ones are bought by museums worldwide. Many of the mammoth tusks harvested go into private collections in United States, Mexico, Canada, Japan, Taiwan and European countries.
Mammoth ivory is eco friendly, natural material that is in limited supply so buying a piece of ivory is like owning a piece of our past, when our ancestors roamed the regions with these Woolly creatures. You can get beautiful scrimshaws, elegant carvings and delicate netsuke crafted out of pure mammoth ivory!
Anita Satin Choudhary writes for Ivory and Art Gallery. Browse the gallery for unique collection of artifacts ranging from Mammoth Ivory to Silver Judaica and netsuke