Identification of Indian or African ivory object.

TomHurstAntiques · 8th July 2019, 05:36 PM

This is 10.5cm tall and has a lot of age. I assume the holes are for looping through string. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

TomHurstAntiques · 14th July 2019, 12:18 AM

Any Ideas?

M ELEY · 16th July 2019, 07:54 AM

A total guess. Could it possibly be an Inuit harpoon rest (inside the canoe?). The ivory walrus tusk?

Battara · 17th July 2019, 12:41 AM

The ivory looks like elephant ivory to me with the concentric rings in the middle, no marbling, and the cross hatching.

I would think that this is African.

Sajen · 18th July 2019, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Battara

The ivory looks like elephant ivory to me with the concentric rings in the middle, no marbling, and the cross hatching.

I would think that this is African.

Or Asian?

Helleri · 28th September 2019, 12:43 PM

Given the oval shape, lengthwise ostrodentine voiding cracks that interupt the dentine and present as radial cracks in cross section, the small dots of cementum at the core, that appear to go all the way through. And the inferred dimensions of the piece (from the one given dimension)... I'm fairly confident that this is walrus tusk ivory.

However I do not believe this to be Inuit in origin as almost all inuit ivory implements I've seen have exposed dowel holes where dowel holes are present (they don't appear on the flat part that marries to another piece as shown here. But are the visible outside of a pieces surface).

8th July 2019, 05:36 PM	#1
TomHurstAntiques Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Dorset Posts: 38	Identification of Indian or African ivory object. This is 10.5cm tall and has a lot of age. I assume the holes are for looping through string. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Attached Images

14th July 2019, 12:18 AM	#2
TomHurstAntiques Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Dorset Posts: 38	Any Ideas?

16th July 2019, 07:54 AM	#3
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,096	A total guess. Could it possibly be an Inuit harpoon rest (inside the canoe?). The ivory walrus tusk?

17th July 2019, 12:41 AM	#4
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,219	The ivory looks like elephant ivory to me with the concentric rings in the middle, no marbling, and the cross hatching. I would think that this is African.

28th September 2019, 12:43 PM	#6
Helleri Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Chino, CA. Posts: 219	Given the oval shape, lengthwise ostrodentine voiding cracks that interupt the dentine and present as radial cracks in cross section, the small dots of cementum at the core, that appear to go all the way through. And the inferred dimensions of the piece (from the one given dimension)... I'm fairly confident that this is walrus tusk ivory. However I do not believe this to be Inuit in origin as almost all inuit ivory implements I've seen have exposed dowel holes where dowel holes are present (they don't appear on the flat part that marries to another piece as shown here. But are the visible outside of a pieces surface).