Ivory, also known as dentine, was the primary substance that makes up the teeth or tusks of all mammals and some other creatures. It was carved for artistic ornaments and also many practical uses.[3][4][5]
Description
Pure ivory was a bright white color, but acquired stains, discolorations, and patterns during use by the animal from which it came. Some animals that grew large teeth or tusks were behemoth, boar, elephant, hippopotamus, mammoth, narwhal, umber hulk, walrus, and the cachalot whale. Larger specimens were used for carving while smaller pieces were used for buttons or ornamentation on clothing, accouterments, and even buildings. The price of raw ivory depended on the hardness, the color or mottling of colors, how well it polished, and current preferences. A typical price range was 1 to 5 gp per pound (0.45kg).[4][5] Carved and polished ivory items had a base value of 10 gp.[3]
Fossilized ivory was found in small quantities, being the result of prehistoric elephant, mastodon, and smilodon teeth being buried for millennia, causing parts of its structure to be replaced by minerals. Because it was not soft enough to carve, there was not much of a market for fossilized ivory.[5]
The head bones of knucklehead trout were often referred to as "knucklehead ivory" as they closely resembled the material [6] and could be used in a similar way, notably for scrimshaw. However, it was not true ivory as it was not sourced from the fish's teeth
Powers
Ivory from common animals had no known magical properties. Teeth and fangs from magical creatures such as displacer beasts and dragons did have use in practicing the Art.[5] One of the rare magical uses of ivory was as a spell component for the spell spirit worm. The ivory needed to be blackened and carved into the form of a worm for that. Note that unicorn horns only resembled ivory in coloration and were not true ivory, since they were not teeth. Ivory could also be used to craft various magic items like bone rings or nine lives. Ivory was also one of the materials that could be used to make spellbook pages. Compared to paper, they were quite durable.[7]
Appendix
See Also
Appearances
Adventures
Novels & Short Stories
The Ring of Winter
Video Games
Card Games
Dragonfire
External Links
Ivory article at Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
References
- ↑ Jeff Grubb and Ed Greenwood (1990). Forgotten Realms Adventures. (TSR, Inc), p. 141. ISBN 0-8803-8828-5.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Eric L. Boyd (1996). Volo's Guide to All Things Magical. (TSR, Inc), p. 127. ISBN 0-7869-0446-1.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, Rob Heinsoo (June 2001). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 300. ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Jeff Grubb and Ed Greenwood (1990). Forgotten Realms Adventures. (TSR, Inc), p. 142. ISBN 0-8803-8828-5.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Ed Greenwood, Eric L. Boyd (1996). Volo's Guide to All Things Magical. (TSR, Inc), p. 42. ISBN 0-7869-0446-1.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (1993). Volo's Guide to the North. (TSR, Inc), p. 149. ISBN 1-5607-6678-6.
- ↑ Sean K. Reynolds, Duane Maxwell, Angel McCoy (August 2001). Magic of Faerûn. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 123, 146, 173. ISBN 0-7869-1964-7.