FACING PAGE LEFT, TOP TO BOTTOM FIGS. 12a–d: Keris handles. a: Bugis, Sulawesi or Bima, Sumbawa. Walrus ivory. L: 8.9 cm. b: Bugis, Sulawesi or Bima, Sumbawa. Sperm whale tooth. L: 7.5 cm. c: West Java or South Sumatra. Elephant ivory. H: 7.9 cm. d: West Java or South Sumatra. Partially fossilized proboscidean molar. H: 9 cm. All 19th century or earlier. Ex Dave DeRoche personal collection. Private collection, United States. Photos: Scott McCue. FIG. 15 (above): Prestige gift, tabua. Fiji. 19th century or earlier. Sperm whale tooth. L: 14.5 cm. Private collection. Photo: B. Carlson. FIG. 16 (above right): Comb, heru. Maori, New Zealand. Before 1777. Dolphin jawbone. H: 26.2 cm. Inscribed, “James King, New Zealand, February 12, 1777” (Cook’s third voyage). King was lieutenant and astronomer on the Resolution. Ex John Hewett, London. Private collection. Photo: B. Carlson. FIG. 17 (below): Pendant, rei niho paraoa. Maori, New Zealand. 19th century or earlier. Ex K. John Hewett. Sperm whale tooth. H: 11.7 cm. Private collection. Photo: B. Carlson. FIGS. 18a and b (below right): Two men’s earrings, ha’akai. Marquesas Islands. 19th century or earlier. Ex K. John Hewett. Sperm whale tooth. L: 4.7 cm. Private collection. Photo: B. Carlson. FIGS. 19a and b (bottom): Two woman’s earrings, putaiana. Marquesas Islands. 19th century or earlier. Ex Pitt Rivers, K. John Hewett. Sperm whale tooth, marine clam. L: 5.7 cm. Private collection. Photo: B. Carlson. FIG. 14 (left): Pair of prestige bracelets. Urhobo, Nigeria. 19th century or earlier. Ex Alain Javelaud. African elephant ivory. Max. W: 15.2 cm. Private collection, United States. Image courtesy of Jo de Buck, Brussels. to 20 cm in length, while the smaller lower set grows to approximately 10 cm. Warthog ivory is readily distinguishable from other sources. It appears mottled, often with heavy dark spots and smears.31 Cross sections of the warthog’s tusk reveal squared layers of irregularly spaced lines where the deposited dentinal layers have different thicknesses, a characteristic that distinguishes the warthog from the smoother and more evenly distributed dentin in other mammalian species. The cross section of the pulp cavity is a narrow line that ranges in thickness but comprises a very small component of the entirety of the tusk (fi g. 4j). Boar is in the same taxonomic family as the warthog, but where boar is a wild ancestor of the domesticated pig, the warthog is itself a species of wild pig. The original natural distribution of boar was predominantly in most of the tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions of Asia; however, presently boar is found throughout Europe. Being in the same taxonomic family as the warthog, identifi cation of boar tusk is effectively the same as warthog, with the primary difference being the substantially longer tusks of warthogs. BONE Bone is a mineralized skeletal tissue found in all mammalian species, and bone and ivory share many of the same composite ingredients of mineral- and carbon-based materials. 32 It is a material frequently used in tribal objects and is commonly mistaken for ivory (fi gs. 16 and 20);33 however, upon close inspection the two differ in several critical and readily identifi able ways.34 Key among these, bone reveals a series of small lines or dashes, forming a grain that runs in parallel courses along the axis. These lines, called Haversian canals, allow fl uid and blood fl ow through the tissue to maintain the organism’s skeletal system (fi g. 4k). This is a simple identifying factor that allows bone to be readily distinguished from ivory. VEGETABLE IVORY Phytelephas (six species) Vegetable ivory is derived primarily from the nuts of the tagua palm tree, which grows in northern South Amerup
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