Walrus ivory, also known as morse, comes from two modified upper canines of a

walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large pinniped marine mammal with discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. It is the only extant species in the family Odobeni ...

. The

tusk Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canine tooth, canine teeth, as with Narwhal, narwhals, chevrotains, musk deer, water deer, muntjac, pigs, ...

s grow throughout life and may, in the Pacific walrus, attain a length of one metre. Walrus teeth are commercially carved and traded; the average walrus tooth has a rounded, irregular peg shape and is approximately 5 cm in length. The tip of a walrus tusk has a

tooth enamel Tooth enamel is one of the four major Tissue (biology), tissues that make up the tooth in humans and many animals, including some species of fish. It makes up the normally visible part of the tooth, covering the Crown (tooth), crown. The other ...

coating which is worn away during the animal's youth. Fine longitudinal cracks, which appear as radial cracks in cross-section, originate in the

cementum Cementum is a specialized calcified substance covering the root of a tooth. The cementum is the part of the periodontium that attaches the teeth to the alveolar bone by anchoring the periodontal ligament. Structure The cells of cementum are ...

and penetrate the dentine. These cracks can be seen throughout the length of the tusk. Whole cross-sections of walrus tusks are generally oval with widely spaced indentations. The dentine is composed of two types: primary dentine and secondary (often called osteodentine). Primary dentine has a classical ivory appearance. Secondary dentine is marble or oatmeal-like.

Carving

Walrus-

ivory carving Ivory carving is the carving of ivory, that is to say animal tooth or tusk, generally by using sharp cutting tools, either mechanically or manually. Objects carved in ivory are often called "ivories". Humans have ornamentally carved ivory sinc ...

and engraving has been an important folk art for people of the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

since prehistoric times, among them the

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

, Inupiaq and Yupik of Greenland and North America and the Chukchi and Koryak of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The Chukchi and Bering Sea Yupik in particular continue to produce ivory. The folk art of walrus-ivory carving has been popular in European

since the Middle Ages, with notable schools of walrus-ivory carving in Kholmogory and Tobolsk. During

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

times, several walrus carving

collectives A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an e ...

were established in villages in Chukotka, notably

Uelen Uelen is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a ''village#Russia, selo'') in Chukotsky District, just south of the Arctic Circle in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug in the Russian Far East. As of the Russian Census (2010), 2010 C ...

. International trade is, however, somewhat restricted by the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES). BLW Reliquary Cross trimmed

In the

Early Medieval The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Middle Ages of Europ ...

period, when supplies of elephant ivory reaching Europe reduced or ceased after the

Muslim conquests The Muslim conquests, Muslim invasions, Islamic conquests, including Arab conquests, Arab Islamic conquests, also Iranian Muslim conquests, Turkic Muslim conquests etc. *Early Muslim conquests ** Ridda Wars **Muslim conquest of Persia *** Muslim co ...

, walrus ivory began to be traded by

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

into northern Europe as a replacement. King

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfr ...

Wessex The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886. The Anglo-Sa ...

records that he was presented with walrus tusks by the Viking trader Ohthere of Hålogaland in about 890, which may mark the start of this trade. Nearly all ivories in Anglo-Saxon art use walrus, and most northern European ivories of the 11th and 12th centuries. Initially large walrus herds were found much further south than is the case today, and it is likely that their hunting for ivory greatly impacted on populations. Around 1160 northern European ivory carving was greatly reduced, which may well be because the material was less easily available. Around 1260, at the start of the Gothic period, elephant ivory began to reach Europe again, and the industry greatly increased.Williamson, 15, 17-18 The Norse also carved items in walrus ivory, notably the Lewis chessmen.

Notes

References

* Webster, Leslie, ''Anglo-Saxon Art'', 2012, British Museum Press, *Nasoori, A, (2020) Tusks, the extra-oral teeth, Archives of Oral Biology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archoralbio.2020.104835 PDF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ux2OWcKU67O-4v0vHeflljrh6lZkrekG/view?usp=sharing *Williamson, Paul. ''An Introduction to Medieval Ivory Carvings'', 1982,

HMSO The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) and of other public information services of the United Kingdom. The OPSI is part of the National Archives of the U ...

for V&A Museum,

External links

{{cite web , url=http://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18312953/ , title=Pipe #1926-37-61 , author=Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum , access-date=10 October 2012 , publisher=Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Ivory Walruses

Carving

See also

Notes

References

External links