Ivory Trade Store Ivory History

From pre-historic man, Throughout recorded history - man had always reacted creatively to the unique qualities of ivory - the substance was used as a measure to ones wealth and success - great kings, like Salomon who brought gold, silver ivory and apes from Africa, concurring Roman emperors , Babylonian rulers and Chinese war lords, all through the ancient world, ivory was a precious commodity and its carving an established art - from objects of virtue and vanity to religious worship sculptures and symbols and to functional objects from the size of a needle to large pieces of furniture.

Ivory is not like any other known material, natural or man-made - the mechanical properties are amazingly divers.

It is a hard, dense material and yet can be hand carved, cut, sowed and polished to a wonderful glowing hue, almost translucent at surface level - it can be sliced so thin that you nearly see through it and yet keep its structural integrity, it can be finely worked on a grinder or lathe, when cut thin, it is very flexible - it takes color easily and can be stained, etched or painted.

Ivory takes beautiful, rich patina with time and has better durability than probably any other natural material - carved objects where recovered from as early as 10,000 BC - rich and diverse finds from 3000 BC and on - pieces taken from Pharos tombs are still in excellent condition and preserve their luster and beauty.

A pick of quality craftsmanship and artistic creativity was reached in the far east (China, Japan ans India) and in Europe (mainly in France, Germany and Italy) during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.

The ‘golden age’ in Japan’s late Edo, Meiji and Taisho periods marked the creations of some exquisite works in ivory and other arts (bronze, lacquer, enamel) same in China’s late Ming period to Chien lung and well into the 20th century.

Ivory Carvers at Work

Ivory Trade Store