Carved & scrim etched in golden, black, & purple colors South African ostrich eggs depicting elephant, lion, giraffe, & zebra animals on the shell.
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The strength of an ostrich egg shell presents the southern African artist with a welcome challenge. Using special scrimshaw needles they scratch a very finely detailed etching onto the egg shell. Once the etching is completed the artist paints Indian ink over the etching and washes off the excess ink. The ink gathers in the scratches and produces the "scrimshaw" effect. This is an ostrich egg from South Africa. Only infertile eggs from bred ostriches are used. The egg is blown, cleaned and sterilized before it is given to the artist.