Ivory? From Africa?

Ivory? From Africa? How old?

 

Looks more like Walrus tusk, how long is this carving.

 

the base doesn't look right......... & I see other issues....

I vote no..... but it's not in my hand..!

 

not walrus..

 

Do you have closer photos to see texture with? It looks like there are lines on the right side of it in the second picture. If it's ivory, it doesn't look very old.....not much patina.

 

Hmmm, a Ford F150 steering wheel is 15 3/4” and it looks like roughly an extra 7” or so putting this in the range or Walrus size wise, it seems small for elephant ivory?

 

Well I guess I don’t know much about elephants… this is around the same size marketed as from South Africa.

https://www.originalbuddhas.com/catalog/antique-ivory-elephant-tusk-from-south-africa-3628-14

 

My feeling is resin, I see some tiny "blobs" in recesses, and the inside isn't of a tusk.
At least, if resin, no elephant died for this

 

The bottom inside looks weird.

 

lots of info on walrus tusks out there as well...

 

Looks like glue from the stand.

 

Elephant tusks come in all sizes, depending on the age and sex of the animal -


Resin reproductions are usually flat on the base. Elephant tusks are hollow at the base -

https://cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/resources/pub/E-Ivory-guide.pdf

The surface details of @Kaiserpoo's piece looks consistent with elephant ivory -




The style of carving looks similar to the Makonde carvings (Tanzania and Mozambique) depicting the "tree of life" - "Ujamaa" -

https://www.blackwoodconservation.org/makonde-art/

Although the Makonde are most noted for their woodcarvings, they have also carved in ivory. It is not uncommon for tusks to have been carved in pairs.

 

Ok. Good point. But even on the stand it looks odd to me. Must have been a lot of glue. The whole thing doesn’t look like quality to me. Even the base/stand looks cheap (but I don’t have a lot of knowledge)

 

I see alternating stripes and a few haircracks, so I say ivory.

 

Thanks this it.