Reassembly of Miniature Carved Fossilized Walrus Tusk Sculpture

Objects Department:

Unknown, Alaska Native artist, Group of Salmon, fossilized walrus tusk - Reassembly Treatment

Derrin Compton, Asisstant Object Conservator during treatment.

This delicate school of red sockeye salmon sculpture was delivered to the studio by a client who treasures the miniature carving, standing a minute 2 1/2 inches tall! The object depicts native Alaskan fish which are highly detailed and expertly carved. Unfortunately, the carving had been broken into three pieces with very small connection points for our object conservator to be able to stabilize and bond the joins.

The beautiful variegated coloration in this piece is fossilized walrus tusk which is the result of minerals that have been absorbed from the environment into the tusk over hundreds of years. Walrus is one of the few types of tusk available today for Alaska Natives to carve and can be found in melting glaciers in Alaska and the Siberian tundra. Another name for fossilized walrus tusk is beach ivory and can sometimes wash up on Arctic beaches which is then collected for these elegant carvings. The tusks have a hard exterior yellow coating that is removed prior to the artist carving the object. This exterior coating comprised of a substance called dentin an enamel-like substance similar to the composition of human teeth.

The treatment plan involved carefully removing the old adhesive from areas that had previous repairs on the walrus tusk. Next, the three carved fragments were bonded and clamped to set the joins. Finally, the work was set into the pins and positioned to stabilize the carving onto the wooden base.