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Carved Netsuke

July 2nd, 2010 admin No comments

Carved Netsuke

Mammoth Ivory Art - A Continuing Trend

Imagine the world when Woolly Mammoths roamed the Earth, free and wild. They had extremely long tusks, which sometimes reached 16 feet and there have been archaeological evidence of artifacts being carved out of their ivory. Museums in many places around the world have mammoth Ivory carvings done by people 10,000 - 20,000 years ago.

There are designers and sculptors who carve this extremely precious material, found only in the Arctic regions and Siberian wild, frozen areas where the fossil remains of Wooly mammoths are found?

Well, now even you can own a piece of mammoth ivory piece of art!

Surprised, do not be because mammoth ivory is legal all over the world and there are master carvers, who specialize in doing very intricate sculpting still. Mammoth ivory is legal as the ivory comes from an extinct animal which existed more than 10, 000 - 40,000 years ago. Thus, it is expensive but not unaffordable and it is similar to owning a piece of history!

How would anyone differentiate between Elephant ivory and Mammoth ivory to know, if the product that you are buying is legal or not? Although elephant ivory and mammoth ivory looks the same to a layman, there are differences which are visible under ultra violet light. Mammoth ivory has deposits of iron phosphate and appears to be purplish under this light source. The cross sections of both the ivory are at different angles and specialists can make out the difference.

There are many kinds of sculptures available at different prices suiting all tastes and the best way to find one that you like, is by searching online stores from all around the world. Although there may be curio or artifact shop that sell this rare commodity around your place.

The source of all mammoth ivory is Arctic regions, where the mammoths got buried eons ago. Suppliers need to first find a mammoth skeleton and procure ivory from there. There are many designers who take pride in creating Exquisite Work whether in the form of sculpture, curios, jewelry or even mammoth ivory netsukes.

Inlay work with this eco friendly ivory is also done in wood, silver and other precious materials as artists design and carve to produce beautiful artifacts and accessories. Ivory can retain its luster and is now considered the best alternative to elephant ivory with enhancement in its color over time with polish.

You can be absolutely sure that this is going to be one of your good money investments, not only in the field of art but as a financial investment as well. The mammoth ivory tusk prices are raising everyday because of the rareness of the tusks. Today is much harder to find thus tusks and therefore the prices are climbing up. I bought before one year ago small figurine that coast me tow thousands us dollars and today I can easily sell it for three thousand five hundreds us dollars.

When you will start to build for yourself a collection remember that you are buying a Limited Edition product - it's rarer than oil & gold.

About the Author

Anita Satin Choudhary writes for Ivory and Art Gallery. Browse the gallery for unique collection of artifacts ranging from
Mammoth ivory
to
Mammoth Ivory Figurines
.