Dale Hanson Studio, Alaska’s Premier Carver/Sculptor Specializing in the Portrayal of Wildlife and the People of the North

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Walrus Mandible (Jawbone) Sculptures

MANDIBLE is jaw bone and in this case specifically from walrus bone which is two to six hundred years old. The bone is very dense, harder and heavier than ivory by volume. Its color is a warm beige or tan at a hundred years of age and becomes nearly black at six hundred.

Because of the shape of a jaw most of my sculptures tend to the long, slender species of animal- whales, seal, fish and similar compositions. Because mandible is larger than a walrus tusk in girth, it is possible to scale up many of my sculptures. It is possible for example, to sculpt five, nine inch long whales and place them in composition attached to large ancient walrus or dinosaur bone for a very striking art piece.

With the warm coloration of old mandible it works well to incorporate ivory or a similar material to play off the colors against each other.

Good mandible sculptures are relatively scarce in that the artist will expend greater effort creating a piece in dense mandible than would be required for the same piece executed in ivory. The finished product however would command less a price because the one was executed in ivory whereas the other was done in bone. Quality carvers are reluctant to work this media for this reason. I continue to produce work in mandible because of its rich color and the ability to size up. I rely then on a discriminating buyer to appreciate the skill level and his desire to own a unique art form.