Check out this fossilized walrus ivory that features a scrimshaw wolf in the woods! It is about 3″ long and 1.25″ tall. The ivory is etched using the traditional art form called scrimshaw by Alaskan artist Dennis Sims of Houston, Alaska.
Scrimshaw was originally carved or engraved articles made by American whalers usually from baleen or whale teeth and bone. Native Alaskans have been using bone and ivory from walrus, mammoth and other animals for thousands of years as tools, utensils, weapons, and even armor. Today Alaskan artists use these same raw materials in their carvings and other scrimshaw artwork.
