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Ambergris occurs as a biliary concretion in the intestines of the [[sperm whale]], and can be found floating upon the sea, on the sea-coast, or in the sand near the sea-coast. Because lumps of ambergris with embedded beaks of [[giant squid]] have been found, scientists have theorized that the whale's intestine produces the substance as a means of facilitating the passage of hard, sharp objects that the whale might have inadvertently eaten. Ambergris can be found in the [[Atlantic Ocean]]; on the coasts of [[Brazil]] and [[Madagascar]]; also on the coast of [[Africa]], of the [[East Indies]], [[China]], [[Japan]] and the [[Maluku Islands|Molucca islands]]. However, most commercially collected ambergris came from the [[Bahama Islands]], [[New Providence Island|Providence Island]], etc. It is also sometimes found in the [[abdomen]] of [[whale]]s. |
Ambergris occurs as a biliary concretion in the intestines of the [[sperm whale]], and can be found floating upon the sea, on the sea-coast, or in the sand near the sea-coast. Because lumps of ambergris with embedded beaks of [[giant squid]] have been found, scientists have theorized that the whale's intestine produces the substance as a means of facilitating the passage of hard, sharp objects that the whale might have inadvertently eaten. Ambergris can be found in the [[Atlantic Ocean]]; on the coasts of [[Brazil]] and [[Madagascar]]; also on the coast of [[Africa]], of the [[East Indies]], [[China]], [[Japan]] and the [[Maluku Islands|Molucca islands]]. However, most commercially collected ambergris came from the [[Bahama Islands]], [[New Providence Island|Providence Island]], etc. It is also sometimes found in the [[abdomen]] of [[whale]]s. |
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On [[24 January]] [[2006]], [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC News Australia]] reported (also reported worldwide including ''inter alia'' [[BBC]] |
On [[24 January]] [[2006]], [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC News Australia]] reported (also reported worldwide including ''inter alia'' [[BBC]] news website [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4642722.stm]) the finding of a 14.75kg piece of ambergris near Streaky Bay in [[South Australia]] by a couple walking along a beach. [http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200601/s1553872.htm] |
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== Physical Properties == |
== Physical Properties == |
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* [http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/editors_pick/1933_05-06_pick.html Natural History Magazine Article: Floating Gold -- The Romance of Ambergris] |
* [http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/editors_pick/1933_05-06_pick.html Natural History Magazine Article: Floating Gold -- The Romance of Ambergris] |
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* [http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200601/s1553872.htm ABC News Australia -- Whale spew find may net $1m for family] |
* [http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200601/s1553872.htm ABC News Australia -- Whale spew find may net $1m for family] |
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| ⚫ | * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4642722.stm -- Whale 'vomit' sparks cash bonanza] |
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==In literature and cinema== |
==In literature and cinema== |
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Ambergris (Ambra grisea, Ambre gris, ambergrease, or grey amber), a solid, fatty, flammable substance of a dull grey or blackish colour, the shades being variegated like marble, possessing a peculiar sweet, earthy odour not unlike isopropyl alcohol. Now largely replaced by synthetics, it is occasionally still used as a fixativeinperfumery.
Ambergris occurs as a biliary concretion in the intestines of the sperm whale, and can be found floating upon the sea, on the sea-coast, or in the sand near the sea-coast. Because lumps of ambergris with embedded beaks of giant squid have been found, scientists have theorized that the whale's intestine produces the substance as a means of facilitating the passage of hard, sharp objects that the whale might have inadvertently eaten. Ambergris can be found in the Atlantic Ocean; on the coasts of Brazil and Madagascar; also on the coast of Africa, of the East Indies, China, Japan and the Molucca islands. However, most commercially collected ambergris came from the Bahama Islands, Providence Island, etc. It is also sometimes found in the abdomenofwhales.
On24 January 2006, ABC News Australia reported (also reported worldwide including inter alia BBC news website [1]) the finding of a 14.75kg piece of ambergris near Streaky Bay in South Australia by a couple walking along a beach. [2]
Ambergris is found in lumps of various shapes and sizes, weighing from ½ oz (14g) to 100 or more pounds (45 or more kg). When initially expelled by the whale or removed from it, the fatty precursor of ambergris is pale white in colour (sometimes streaked with black), soft in consistency, with a disagreeable fecal smell. Following months and years of photo-degradation and oxidation in the ocean, this precursor gradually hardens, developing a dark grey or black colour, a crusty and waxy texture, and a peculiar odour that is at once sweet, earthy, marine, and animalic. Its smell has been described by many as a vastly richer and smoother version of isopropanol without its stinging harshness.
In this developed condition, ambergris has a specific gravity ranging from 0.780 to 0.926. It melts at about 62 °C to a fatty, yellow resinous-like liquid; and at 100 °C it is volatilized into a white vapour. It is soluble in ether, and in volatile and fixed oils; it is only feebly acted on by acids. By digesting in hot alcohol, a substance termed ambrein, closely resembling cholesterin, is obtained, which separates in brilliant white crystals as the solution cools.
Historically, the primary commercial use of ambergris has been in fragrance chemistry, although it has also been used for medicinal and flavoring purposes. Ambergris is one of the most important amber type odorants and is highly sought. However, it is difficult to get a consistent and reliable supply of high quality ambergris. Due to demand for ambergris and its high price, replacement compounds have been sought out by the fragrance industry and chemically synthesized. The most important of these is Ambrox, which has taken its place as the most widely used amber odorant in perfume manufacture. The oldest and most commercially significant synthesis of Ambrox is from sclareol (primarily extracted from Clary sage), although syntheses have been devised from a variety of other natural products, including cis-abienol and thujone. Procedures for the microbial production of Ambrox have also been devised.
With the development of synthetic products with similar properties, the widely varying price of ambergris tincture has stabilized at about US$9 per pint. Depending on its quality, raw ambergris fetches between US$2.00 to US$9.00 per ounce. However, in the United States, possession of any part of an endangered species — including ambergris that has washed ashore — is a violation of the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
Ambergris is also a fictional city, named for "the most secret and valued part of the whale," appearing in Jeff Vandermeer's books City of Saints and Madmen and Shriek: An Afterword. The word also appears in Ezra Pound's poem Portrait d'une Femme. Chapters XCI and XCII of Moby-Dick relate the extraction of ambergris from a deceased sperm whale.
In the 2001 motion picture Hannibal, Dr. Lecter's secret location in Florence, Italy was determined after FBI Agent Clarice Starling received a letter from him that was scented with a hand-engineered fragrance containing ambergris. Agent Starling consulted a team of fragrance industry experts who identified the presence of ambergris by smelling the letter and lamented their inability to work with ths substance in the United States due to its prohibition.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
