Re: [lace] Ivory? Bone?Baleen
The only baleen I have seen was black. Has anyone else seen white baleen? Lorri And what is baleen, you ask... Again, according to Wikipedia, it is, "... not bone, but is composed of keratin, the same substance as hair, horn, claws and nails..." Baleen whales have "plates" of hairy fringe through which they filter the organic matter on which they live. The solid part of the plate, from which the fringe emanates, is presumably the part that is used for scrimshaw. - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: [lace] Ivory? Bone?Baleen
In Alaska I saw baleen many, many times. The Alaskan Inupiat hunt bowhead whales every year and are entitled to sell the baleen. Long pieces of baleen displayed on living room walls is a common sight in Alaskan homes. It is black, 8 to 10 feet long, and looks like a giant fingernail with a fringe of hair along one of the long sides. It's flexible and strong at the same time. I've seen ivory carvings decorated with small inset pieces of baleen, and there is an Inupiat family who make tiny baskets of woven baleen. I've only seen black ones. Sally Schoenberg Farmington New Mexico - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Ivory? Bone?Baleen
Snip.. The only baleen I have seen was black. Has anyone else seen white baleen? Yes. In Alaska, last summer, one of the tour boats had a large piece of white baleen mounted on the overhead and a description of what it was...not where it was gathered. BarbE Texas - - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
