Description:

North America or Asia, Siberia, Pleistocene (Ice Age), ca. 200,000 to 10,000 years ago. Two large fossilized ivory tusk fragments from prehistoric woolly mammoths and/or mastodons! The largest fragment is comprised of several layers of the exterior surface of the tusk, while the brown tusk includes outer layers and the central core or dentine. The minerals and chemicals in the environment affect the coloration of the ivory- one is a creamy white, and the other is dark with patches of a gray-blue hue. While just fragmentary pieces, these are quite hefty and would take a sizable animal to carry a pair of these. Mammoths and mastodons are both extinct relatives of modern elephants, but they differ in their physical characteristics and habitat preferences. Mammoths had curved tusks, and teeth adapted to browse grasses in steppe-tundra, while mastodons had shorter, straight tusks and favored forests for leaf browsing. Size of larger piece: 13.5" L x 4" W (34.3 cm x 10.2 cm)

This is an ESA antique exempt piece of ivory and cannot be sold internationally or to anyone residing in the states of California, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington. We guarantee that the piece is over 100 years old.

Provenance: private Van Buskirk collection, Tucson, Arizona USA

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

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#183922

  • Condition: Both are fragments of a larger tusk, splintering and flaking as shown. Clear coating added to stabilize the surfaces. Old inventory numbers written on the surfaces.

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March 8, 2024 8:00 AM MST
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000