Organic Primitive Talisman with Mammoth Ivory , Juniper, Abalone, Yucca

:: All These Are Close to My Heart ::

I made this simple little piece to try and emulate the feel of a talisman someone might have put together in very ancient times. It would have been a way for that person to carry sacred and meaningful items or totems close to their heart. While I’ve taken the liberty to include tiny glass beads and used a modern drill, the sentiment is the same.

The bundle is made of New Mexico juniper heartwood and shreds of bark and shards of Siberian wooly mammoth ivory wrapped together with yucca fiber and a strand of beads. I prepared the yucca fibers in the ancestral manner here at home from plants growing on my own land. The beads are various shell heishe strung on linen thread. A tiny rainbow colored piece of beach-find abalone is tied onto the front.

On the strand are a mix of desert earth-colored seed beads with beads made from ancient St. Lawrence Island, Alaska walrus ivory, ancient shell and bone. There are also more abalone beads here including little chips from a vintage Pueblo Indian necklace. They’re strung on fine silk cord, so it has an extra-soft drape.

++ About the mammoth ivory: I’m aware there’s a lot of controversy about whether it’s ethical to sell ancient ivory because sometimes poached elephant ivory is passed off as mammoth, particularly in Asia. Sometimes the cut and finish of the ivory makes this impossible to tell, but I buy mine from a reputable source and double check it myself. How do you tell the difference? Schreger lines. These are distinctive growth patterns visible in the cross section of the tusk and look like crosshatched Vs pointing inward from the outside. In elephant ivory the Vs are very broad and wide; in mammoths the Vs are narrower and more compressed. So now you know!

For desert spirits and fearless souls…

SIZE: 19” from the back of your neck to the end of the talisman bundle. The talisman is 3 7/8” long.

CARE: Do not immerse in water. Wipe with a soft, damp cloth to clean.

PACKAGING: This necklace will arrive giftwrapped in hand-decorated, Earth-friendly packaging, wrapped inside an organic cotton pouch. Please reuse or recycle the wrappings.

SHIPPING: Your talisman will be shipped via USPS Priority Mail. Shipping is always free.