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Walrus ivory, also known as morse, [1] comes from two modified upper canines of a walrus. The tusks grow throughout life and may, in the Pacific walrus, attain a length of one metre. [ 2 ] 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 elephant of Yūsuf al-Bāhilī, known as the Chessman of Charlemagne [1] or Eléphant de Charlemagne, [2] is an ivory sculpture, possibly part of a chess set and probably carved in Sindh in the 9th century AD. It has been in Paris since at least the 16th century.
The Lewis chessmen (Scottish Gaelic: Fir-thàilisg Leòdhais [fiɾʲˈhaːlɪʃkʲ loː.ɪʃ]) or Uig chessmen, named after the island or the bay where they were found, [1] are a group of distinctive 12th-century chess pieces, along with other game pieces, most of which are carved from walrus ivory.
Of the chess pieces, 60 are major pieces and 19 are pawns. [n 3] In addition to the carved chess pieces, the hoard includes 14 plain ivory discs, [n 4] as well as a single ivory buckle, which might have been part of a bag holding the pieces. [1] Most pieces are carved from walrus tusk ivory, while at least three are made from whale tooth. [17]
Chess boxes, chess clocks, and chess tables are common pieces of chess equipment used alongside chess sets. Chess sets are made in a wide variety of styles, sometimes for ornamental rather than practical purposes. For tournament play, the Staunton chess set is preferred and, in some cases, required. Human chess uses people as the pieces.
Queen. The legend regarding the set states that these chessmen were given as a gift to Charlemagne by Caliph Harun al-Rashid, [3] who was an avid chess player. The fact that the set displays elephants instead of bishops and chariots instead of rooks denotes a form of the Perso-Arabic game known as Shatranj, itself coming from the original Indian Chaturanga (which compound word means the 'Four ...
If you thought teeth were only worth a couple bucks from the tooth fairy, think again. On a brand-new episode of "Antiques Roadshow" Monday, a Fred Myrick scrimshaw tooth got a price tag that ...
Ivory from Africa came from one of two types of elephant in Africa; the more desirable bush elephant with larger and heavier tusks or the forest elephant with smaller and straighter tusks. [32] Ivory tusks as well as ivory objects such as carved masks, salt cellars, oliphants and other emblems of importance have been traded and used as gifts ...