Ivory in Gondolin

[Alfirin]

Originally Posted by skip spence

Isn't the most likely source of ivory in Gondolin Valinor across the Sea?. There the fauna, I believe, was said to include every known species of ME and then some. Turgon probably brought his sword (and sheath) with him when going into exile. The Noldor certainly arrived at ME armed and ready to tussle...

Good point.
Actually with that theory there are some other, rather odd options. Part of it sort of depends on whether it is actually possible to kill animals in the Undying Lands (we keep being told that bilbo, frodo et al mortalis do eventually die, but we are talking here about animals born in the undying lands; whether they are mortal or not is a little murky (at least to me) since it is hard to imagine the elves doing something so cruel as pulling teeth out of living animals, perhaps the "ivory" in this case is vegetable ivory i.e. the kernel of some sort of palm. This would probably not be even close to anything Tolkein would imagine (I'm not 100% sure vegetable ivory was even well known in the west in Tolkein's day. but if native animals are immortal in Valinor (and again I say, I do not know) then it would seem to be the only option (if Valinor containes all the fauna of ME+ is presumably also contaions all the flora+.)