Bone, Mammoth/Walrus Tusk, Carved Sea Otter Playing with Its Tail, 40x30mm

ORB-144

Regular price $85.00

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  • Playful sea otter chasing its tail, carved in walrus or mammoth tusk collected in Alaska and taken to Indonesia to be turned into art by master carvers who were out of work because trading ivory had been banned.
  • Working in and selling walrus and mammoth ivory is completely legal.
  • I bought this piece and several others in the early 1990s from a character who had worked on the Alaska Pipeline where he'd discovered the material, then vacationed in Indonesia where he discovered the carvers, put the two together and made a small business of it for a few years, then disappeared on his next adventure. The old guys who did the carving are long gone by now and this level of technical skill, experience and creativity is harder than ever to find. 
  • I hope these pieces will find good homes. Each one is unique.