Whale ivory

The diagnostic for certain ivories is their structural patterns, for example the engine turning pattern in elephant or mammoth ivory, the tapioca pudding look of the secondary dentine in walrus ivory, the diagonal pattern on narwhal ivory and the concentric lines and dark central spot of sperm whale ivory (F 3.4 and 3.12-3.17). In larger carvii or objects, the curvature of a tusk may be detectable. Examination of the structural pattern is needed to determine which type of tusk has been used. 

Arctic ivory has always been looked upon by the local communities in parts of Canada, Alaska, Greenland and Siberia as more of a useful commodity, to be fashioned into utensils and weapons and even used as building materials. Three thousand years ago the Ancient Inuit used mostly walrus ivory, as walruses were much easier to catch than whales. Walrus ivory was also more plentiful than wood. The walrus was altogether an immensely useful animal, as it supplied meat, oil for heating from its blubber, hide for clothes or roofe, bone and ivory. It was only in the twentieth century, with the advent of more sophisticated hunting methods, that whale ivory became as much used as walrus ivory. 

Figure 13 FT-Raman spectra of true ivory 1064-nm excitation, 500 spectral scans accumulated, 4-cm spectral resolution (a) sperm whale ivory, (b) elephant ivory, and (c) walrus ivory. 

Figure 1 Roman die, ca. AD 300, from archaeological excavations at Frocester Villa, Gloucester, UK. Raman spectroscopy has suggested the origin of the die as sperm whale ivory. (See Colour Plate 1).

Ivory, or dentine, the main constituent of the teeth of mammals, is a relatively hard, cream-white material that can be carved or mechanically formed, and its surface can be polished to a high shine (O Connor et al. 1987 Wills 1968). Of particular interest is the ivory that makes up the tusks (large incisor teeth) of large mammals such as elephants, hippopotami, whales, narwhals, and... 

Tooth and tusk ivory can be carved into an almost infinite variety of shapes and objects. A small example of carved ivory objects are small (50) statuary, netsukes, jewelry, flatware handles, furniture inlays, and piano keys. Additionally, wart hog tusks, and teeth from sperm whales, killer whales, and hippos can also be scrimshawed or superficially carved, thus retaining their original shapes as morphologically recognizable objects. 

Ivory is most commonly thought of as coming from elephants, but the teeth or tusks from walruses, hippopotamuses, marine whales and dolphins, and members of the swine family such as wild boar and warthogs have also been used. 

It is most usual to come across ivory from the sperm whale (cachalot), and the orca (killer whale). These two are here grouped together due to the similarity of the structure of their teeth. 

It is said that the teeth need to be taken from the whale quickly after it has been killed, and that the ivory is best carved fresh. Teeth found on an animal that has died naturally can turn greyish and become brittle. 

Cetacean ivories are mainly associated with the whaling industry and scrimshaw (the whalers art of carving available materials, especially ivory). The teeth were also valuable to the Inuit, as they could be made into utensils, and carved into such items as toys and talismans, as well... 

The art of scrimshaw was actually started by European whalers, but quickly spread across the Atlantic and is now generally considered an American art. It came about because the men on the whaling vessels had a lot of time and little to occupy themselves with in between sightings and catches of whales, so they used the by-products of the whaling industry to pass the time. Marine ivory, bone and baleen could all be carved or etched and in some way decorated to make useful and attractive objects. 

After the first millennium the emphasis was on ecclesiastical objects, and these were most commonly made of ivory. However, there are examples of bone carvings, both from catde bone and whale pan bone. Some items were made of part ivory and part bone, which was by then considered a cheaper alternative, and was more easily obtainable. 

In the nineteenth century the whaling fleets of America and Europe produced carvings now known as scrimshaw . A lot of whale bone was used, as well as ivory. The huge pan bones from the toothed whales could be made into large, solid pieces of equipment such as meat hammers, or blocks and cleats for the ship s rigging. Because bone is less likely to warp than ivory, it was also made into more specialised equipment such as rulers and gauges. The smaller, finer and more decorative objects that were produced by the scrimshanders were more likely to be made of ivory than of bone, and were made for use in the home rather than on board ship. 

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