Tallying up a small collection of tusks
I encounter a lot of mammoth tusks in my forays into the Klondike goldfields, literally tons of them! All are rough, most are just pieces, broken or partly rotten shards of the original tusk. Broken by shifting earth, hit by machinery, or rotten by time and exposure to water and sun. Any piece that survives so many thousands of years is a treasure to be cherished, but there are those rare tusks that survived whole and those pieces are magical. They are truly larger than life. Whether complete or broken, all tusks are precious and have great potential.
A collection ready for export. Some pieces can be restored, some will become sculpture and jewelry.
Bringing mammoths back to life means taking what remains of their tusks and determining their best possible use. If I can restore a tusk whole or in part I will.
Restored well and mounted with pride, this tusk was brought back to life.
Mammoth tusks carry history. A tusk that once served the mammoth as a weapon, a shovel, a forklift, or as a nurturing nudge to a family member now serves as a modern day story teller.
Broken but beautiful, a tusk tip and tail stand tall and proud with minimal change to their original form. The broken edges, cracks, and stains tell the story of their 35,000 years of survival.
Displayed whole in a museum, as sculpture in a home, or as a piece of jewelry, mammoth crafts elicit conversation, imagination, and awe. They are evidence that woolly mammoths really did walk this earth and that life is fragile.
Often there is not enough of the complete tusk to restore. These smaller pieces lend themselves well to other crafts. A raw piece of a tusk that is rotten or damaged probably won't represent the mammoth well. These shards can be worked, carved, and shaped to show off the true natural beauty of the mammoth. Carving deep into the ivory reveals the gorgeous Schrager lines and colorful staining from the ground minerals.
Look closely at my female figure and you notice the distinct crosshatching Schrager lines that clearly distiguish Mammoth tusks from any modern day ivory. The angle of these intersection lines clearly distinguish mammoth from elephant ivory.
Speaking of staining, the colors of ancient ivory can range from a light cream to all shades of brown, black, even rusty reds. Blue vivianite is one of the most exceptional hues.
This carving by Steve Stegall sports a rare and spectacular combination of deep blue vivianite and chocolate brown.
Sometimes a piece must be carved to expose the etherial colors and subtle patterns such as in the above raptor and female face carved by Steve Stegall. Notice how well he incorporated the rough natural surface as hair to contrast with the silky smooth skin. This highlights Steve's mastery of carving while honoring the ancient story of the mammoth.
Then there is Scrimshaw, the technique of sanding down and polishing a "window" in a piece of ivory and then "scratching" a picture on the polished surface. India ink rubbed on the surface will rub away from everything except the scratches, leaving the image you see. Mammoth is stained from being buried for so many thousands of years but the staining is darkest on the outer surface. In the above masterpieces by Gary Kiracofe you'll see how he used the rough natural outer texture of the "bark" to create a frame for these exquisite pieces. Again this shows off the perfection of his Scrim and allows the mammoth's story to remain intact.
My mobius shows how creamy the ivory of the interior of the tusk can be.
Preserving mammoth ivory through art expresses the artist and tells the mammoth's story: its life, death, and of surviving impossible odds buried in the frozen tundra of the north. It symbolizes the grandeur of the mammoth and also kind of highlights what happens when climates change.
Pieces of mammoth tusk that rotted in the field.
Mammoth ivory must be utilized. Most tusks have no scientific value so paleontologists have no interest in preserving them. If a piece of mammoth is left in the field it will degrade and rot in a few short seasons. I depend fully on the miners to protect these tusks the best they can. The better the tusk's quality, the more money they will get for them. If there was no commercial trade in mammoth ivory there would be no incentive to care for these pieces and they would be left to rot on the ground.
In my next post I will look at mammoth ivory compared to elephant ivory and the controversy and confusion embroiling them.
Thank you for your interest! Email me if you have any thoughts or questions.