What is this old ivory carving used for

I was told this is a very rare handle for a ceremonial buddahist whisk. It had horse hair at one time. its at least 150 yrs old. He guess the age because of the slight cracking. Its has several different what i believe monks. One band of roses. They are reading and writing on scrolls in a garden . it has arches with different kinds of flowers hanging . It had a leather strap at one time..
Now i also been told that no way is it because a buddhist monk would never own something so beautiful. The person that gave me this information told me that it is elephant ivory. ( ive read the laws about selling ivory) And it must have been made for someone very special. Can anyone tell me if the info i have correct.