Hey all! I just finished up this batch of beads and amulets using the very last bits of my woolly mammoth ivory! I used to cut a LOT of mammoth ivory and sold a lot on eBay, but a few years ago eBay ended ALL ivory sales, whether it was LEGAL mammoth ivory or not! I got a great deal on some nice loose little chunks of mammoth ivory when I was in Tucson last February so I decided to do another batch. I CAN sell them in my DVHdesignsBEADS Etsy store and they're all listed there now. Here's a group image of all of them.
...and here are some close ups of several of the pieces....
this really long piece has the natural outside "bark" of the tusk on it, and two large holes, one at either end, for creative beading!
while this piece shows some bark with the rest of it polished smooth. The buckskin coloring is from the mineral content of the permafrost that the ivory was buried in for thousands of years. Here is a piece of mammoth ivory that is NOT discolored and looks as if it came off a mammoth very recently, not over 10,000 years ago
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This material is collected by Inuits and other native peoples in Alaska, Canada, and Siberia and can only be gathered for a few months every summer during the thaw. Of course that's changing with all the permafrost melting due to climate change, so more Mammoth ivory is being exposed in Arctic regions. The coloration depends on how well it is preserved and what minerals might have been present where it was found. It is anywhere from 10,000 to several million years old. Mammoths and Mastodons died out over 10,000 years ago and using this organic gemstone does not threaten any endangered species. This is sometimes referred to as "fossil ivory" however it has not turned to stone, it is still and organic gemstone and not a rock or mineral.
While this material works and cuts like contemporary elephant ivory, it does NOT harm elephants. I continue to support the worldwide ban on elephant ivory trade. According to wikipedia, "Trade in the ivory from the tusks of dead mammoths has occurred for 300 years and continues to be legal. Mammoth ivory is used today to make handcrafted knives and similar implements. Mammoth ivory is rare and costly, because mammoths have been extinct for millennia and scientists loathe to sell museum-worthy specimens in pieces, but this trade does not threaten any living species." Most mammoth ivory that is found is NOT museum quality pieces but rather broken chunks and this is the majority of the material that is brought to the lapidary market from the Canadian, American, and Siberian mammoth ivory dealers.
People often ask what the difference is between mammoths and mastodons. The main difference is their teeth and their diet! Mammoths had slightly larger, more curved tusks, and they were grazers, eating mostly grasses. Mastodon means "nipple teeth" and they were browsers that mainly ate leaves, tree shoots, and fruits. One can not tell the difference in species from looking at just the ivory of the beast. One would have to see the surface of a molar or more of the skeleton to determine the species.
I have heard said that metaphysically mammoth ivory helps one communicate with the ancestor spirits. According to Melody, in her book, Love Is in the Earth, "Ivory represents purity and promotes vitality directed towards rightness in purpose and direction. It assists in expelling restlessness, anxiety, moodiness and derision, while stimulating initiative, dignity, and serenity. It also helps to eliminate obstructive forces in the physical world, providing for a clear pathway for incoming transactions and resources. It can be used in the treatment of bone disorders and in the regeneration activities required to ameliorate these disorders. It can also be quite useful in diminishing problems associated with soreness and stiffness of joints, flexibility of the limbs," and more!
The mammoth ivory and some other items I've made are in my Etsy store, however I still put almost all of my inventory in my DVHdesigns eBay store. Check it out for more cool one of a kind, custom cut, gemstone beads and genuine jet mourning jewelry!
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1 comment:
It is the most significant sculpture medium in the world. Our earliest ancestral heritage depended on the Woolly Mammoth in all aspects as well as the earliest sculpture (tool tradition) in our history. We are fortunate as artisans to have the opportunity to work with this wonderful translucent and gem grade ivory. I have have discovered thousands of pieces and full tusks in the Arctic...and continue.
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