I think we don't see older examples of this material either because it's use is fairly recent or it just doesn't hold up over time because of it's fragility. I think you will find this to be the case with fossilized elephant tooth as well. Almost all of the examples we see are contemporary. Even though it is hard it is very brittle and if there were a lot of older example (i don't really think there were) they didn't hold up.
As nice as that frog on th lily pads hilt is in this modern piece, i would be VERY wary about handling it at all. It is art for art sake with no functionality to it.
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