**This is an oversized piece that may require special shipping. Please inquire for a quote prior to bidding.
Arctic region, Pleistocene epoch (Ice Age), ca. 35,000 years ago. A massive fossilized mammoth tusk of rich coppery hues, with a notable ring about one third of the way up its length, as if the animal experienced a period of injury or starvation that left a mark in the growth of its tusk. Size: 2.7" W x 43" H (6.9 cm x 109.2 cm)
Imagine walking in a modern Arctic or sub-Arctic landscape like Alaska, northern Canada, or Siberia and finding a tusk like this rising from the ground - the name mammoth comes from a Siberian word used to describe the tusks found there by native people, like the Khanty of the Irtysh River basin, and traded to Europe and China. Their occasional finds of massive tusks and even preserved mammoth bodies in the permafrost - often eroding out of the sides of river banks - led to their folkloric belief that mammoths were like huge rodents, dwelling underground, dying when they accidentally surfaced. With the invention of science as a discipline, massive tusks like this one continued to capture imaginations all over the world - for example, Thomas Jefferson, who was fascinated by paleontology, is credited with introducing the use of the word mammoth as an adjective to describe something very large.
Please note that fossilized ivory tusks from any species cannot be shipped to the US States of California, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington State.
Provenance: private southwestern Pennsylvania, USA collection, acquired prior to 2000
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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we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage replace this
#135228
Condition
Small losses to enamel surface, with most wear at tip. Tiny losses around the end.