Ivory

From New World Encyclopedia
Revision as of 00:26, 20 July 2008 by Rick Swarts (talk | contribs)
An elaborately carved ivory decoration

Ivory is the hard, smooth, substance, composed primarily of dentin, that constitutes the tusks, or upper incisors, of elephants (family Elephantidae), including the extinct mammoths (genus Mammuthus), as well as the elephant-like mastodons (family Mammutidae, order Proboscidea). More generally, the term is used for a similar, yellowish-white, dentin-composed substance comprising the tusks and teeth of other animals, including walruses, hippopotamuses, the helmeted hornbill bird (Rhinoplax vigil), and whales (sperm, killer, and narwhal). The term also refers to the tusks or teeth of these animals.

While the word "ivory" was traditionally applied to the tusks of elephants (the word is ultimately from Ancient Egyptian âb, âbu, meaning "elephant"), and has expanded to include other animals, today it also is used for imitation substances that resemble ivory. For example, the terms "Genuine French Ivory" and "Indian Ivory" refer to an imitation ivory manufactured from casein or cellulose nitrate (MFMHS).

The beauty, smoothness, ease of carving, adhesive hardness, and durability of ivory has made it attractive for many ornamental and practical uses. It has been used for piano keys, billiard balls, bagpipes, buttons, and a wide range of ornamental items.

Structure

Section through the ivory tooth of a mammoth

Dentin is the main component of ivory. Dentin is a calcified tissue of the body, make up largely of mineralized connective tissue and collagen. It is one of the four major components of most teeth and tusks, the others being enamel, cementum, and pulp. Usually, it is covered by enamel on the crown and cementum on the root and surrounds the entire pulp.

Teeth and tusks have the same origins. Teeth are specialized structures adapted for food chewing. Tusks are extremely large modified teeth projecting beyond the lips. Teeth and tusks have the same physical structures: pulp cavity, dentine, cementum and enamel. The innermost area is the pulp cavity. The pulp cavity is an empty space within the tooth that conforms to the shape of the pulp.

The porous, yellow-hued dentin is made up of about 70% inorganic materials (mainly hydroxylapatite and some non-crystalline amorphous calcium phosphate), 20% organic materials (90% of which is collagen type 1 and the remaining 10% ground substance, which includes dentine-specific proteins), and 10% water (which is absorbed on the surface of the minerals or between the crystals). There are different types of dentin, differentiated by appearance and stage of development. Because it is softer than enamel, it decays more rapidly, but due to its elastic properties it is a good support for enamel. Its flexibility prevents the brittle enamel fracturing.

Dentinal tubules are structures that span the entire thickness of dentin and form as a result of the mechanism of dentin formation. The three dimensional configuration of the dentinal tubules is under genetic control and is therefore a characteristic unique to the order, although in many mammalian species the tubules follow a gentle helical course through the solid matrix. The structure of the dentinal tubules contributes both to its porosity (useful for piano keys) and its elasticity (useful for billiard balls.)

Elephant tusks are formed with a thin, partial cap of enamel, which soon wears away, leaving the dentin exposed. They do have a cementum layer, referred to by ivory dealers as the bark or rind (Springate 2000). Elephant ivory has a fine, even grain, which is easily carved, and is uniquely characterized by Lines of Retzius or Lines of Schregar, which are visible in cross section and give the appearance of intersecting lines with a diamond shape between them (engine-turned effect) (Springate 2000; MFMHS). Hippopotamus ivory has a thick enamel coating, is denser and harder to carve than elephant ivory, and has a finer grain; it is often used for flat items, such as buttons and inlays (Springate 2000). Walrus ivory has a primary dentin layer and a secondary dentine layer, with the secondary layer having a marbled appearance (MFMHS). The ivory of various animals differ in many other ways (Springate 2000; MFMHS). There are even detectable differences between African and Asian ivory, with African ivory harder and with a tanslucent, yellow appearance, and Asian ivory softer and with an opaque, white appearance (MFMHS).

Synthetic substitutes for ivory have been developed. Plastics have been viewed by piano purists as an inferior ivory substitute on piano keys, although other recently developed materials more closely resemble the feel of real ivory. The difference between synthetic and natural ivory is easy to detect by the lack of irregular canal lines in synthetic ivory, and even if high-quality imitations are made with simulated lines, these tend to be repeating rather than irregular (MFMHS). Under ultraviolet light, synthetics will fluoresce a dull blue, and natural ivory a bright blue (MFMHS).

Ivory in art

Ivory has been a most prestigious material for carving.
Ivory cover of the Codex Aureus of Lorsch, c. 810, Carolingian dynasty, Victoria and Albert Museum

Paleolithic Cro-Magnon man, during the late stages of the ice age, were the first to carve in ivory (mammoth tusks). Both the Greek and Roman civilizations used large quantities of ivory to make high value works of art, precious religious objects, and decorative boxes for costly objects. Ivory was often used to form the white of the eyes of statues.

File:OPIUM LAYOUT.JPG
A complete opium smoking "layout" including a solid ivory opium pipe.

The Syrian and North African elephant populations were reduced to extinction, probably due to the demand for ivory in the Classical world.[citation needed]

The Chinese have long valued ivory for both art and utilitarian objects. Early reference to the Chinese export of ivory is recorded after the Chinese explorer Zhang Qian ventured to the west to form alliances to enable for the eventual free movement of Chinese goods to the west; as early as the first century B.C.E., ivory was moved along the Northern Silk Road for consumption by western nations.[1] Southeast Asian kingdoms included tusks of the Indian elephant in their annual tribute caravans to China. Chinese craftsmen carved ivory to make everything from images of Buddhist and Taoist deities to opium pipes.[2]

The Indianized Buddhist cultures of Southeast Asia, including Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos and Cambodia traditionally harvested ivory from their domesticated elephants. Ivory was prized for containers due to its ability to keep an airtight seal. Ivory was also commonly carved into elaborate seals utilized by officials to "sign" documents and decrees by stamping them with their unique official seal.[3]

File:Mammoth ivory figurine drum.jpg
Mammoth Ivory carved figurine

In Southeast Asian countries where Muslim Malay peoples live, such as Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, ivory was the material of choice for making the handles of magical kris daggers. In the Philippines, ivory was also used to craft the faces and hands of Catholic icons and images of saints.

Tooth and tusk ivory can be carved into a vast variety of shapes and objects. A small example of modern carved ivory objects are small statuary, netsukes, jewelry, flatware handles, furniture inlays, and piano keys. Additionally, warthog tusks, and teeth from sperm whales, orcas and hippos can also be scrimshawed or superficially carved, thus retaining their morphologically recognizable shapes.

Consumption before plastics

Before plastics were invented, ivory was important for cutlery handles, musical instruments, billiard balls, and many other items. It is estimated that consumption in Great Britain alone in 1831 amounted to the deaths of nearly 4,000 elephants. Ivory can be taken from dead animals — Russians dug up tusks from extinct mammoths — however most ivory came from elephants who were killed for their tusks. Other animals which are now endangered were also preyed upon, for example, hippos, which have very hard white ivory prized for making artificial teeth.[4]

Availability

Men with ivory tusks, Dar es Salaam, c. 1900

Due to the rapid decline in the populations of the animals that produce it, the importation and sale of ivory in many countries is banned or severely restricted. Much of the decline in population is due to poachers during and before the 1980s. Since the worldwide ivory trade ban in 1989 there have been ups and downs in elephant populations, and ivory trade as bans have been placed and lifted. Many African countries including Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana claim that ivory trade is necessary—both to stimulate their economies and reduce elephant populations which are allegedly harming the environment. A 1999 study done by Oxford University found that less than one percent of the five-hundred million US dollars ivory sales generated ever reach Africans; most of it goes to middlemen and vendors. However, in 2002 the United Nations partially lifted the ban on ivory trade, allowing a few countries to export certain amounts of ivory. The effectiveness of the policy is in question, in light of the study preceding the ban, and an updated study would be needed to evaluate the current state of the ivory trade.

In 2007 eBay, under pressure from the International Fund for Animal Welfare, made the decision to ban all international sales of elephant ivory products. The IFAW found that up to 90% of the elephant ivory transactions on Ebay violated their own wildlife policies and could potentially be illegal. The ban does not affect trade within the United States but only trade between sellers in different countries.[5]

Kenya, which saw its elephant populations plummet in the decade preceding the 1989 ban, claims that legalizing ivory trade anywhere in Africa will endanger elephants everywhere in Africa as poachers would attempt to launder their illegal ivory with legal stockpiles.

The 2006 Zakouma elephant slaughter in Chad is one of a long series of massacres which have eliminated some ninety-six percent of the original 300,000 African elephant population of Chad in only four decades.

Trade in the ivory from the tusks of dead mammoths has occurred for 300 years and continues to be legal. Mammoth ivory is used today to make handcrafted knives and similar implements.

The demand for ivory is primarily from the Japanese hanko industry. Hankos are small seals used for signing documents. Traditionally, these hankos were also made from other material. Ivory hankos were introduced only in the last century.

A species of hard nut is gaining popularity as a replacement for ivory, although its size limits its usability. It is sometimes called vegetable ivory, or tagua, and is the seed endosperm of the ivory nut palm commonly found in coastal rainforests of Ecuador , Peru and Colombia.[6]

On July 15, 2008, the United Nations panel overseeing the CITES convention granted China and Japan permission to import elephant ivory from African government stockpiles in a one-time auction. The auction will comprise approximately 44 tons from Botswana, 9 tons from Namibia, 51 tons from South Africa, and 4 tons from Zimbabwe. The Chinese government in 2003 acknowledged that it had lost track of 121 tons of ivory between 1991 and 2002.

Types of ivory

  • Elephant and mammoth ivory from the tusks of bull elephants and mammoths
  • Walrus ivory from the tusks of a bull walrus
  • Warthog ivory
  • Hornbill ivory, derived from a bird, is not true ivory but resembles it

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  1. C.Michael Hogan,Silk Road, North China, The Megalithic Portal, ed. A. Burnham
  2. Martin, Steven. The Art of Opium Antiques. (2007). Silkworm Books, Chiang Mai
  3. http://www.asianart.com/articles/thai-ivory/index.html Ivory Carving in Thailand Retrieved on 08-30-07
  4. Tomlinson, C., ed. (1866). Tomlinson's Cyclopaedia of Useful Arts. London: Virtue & Co.  Vol I, pages 929-930.
  5. Antique Week, July 9, 2007, Page 1
  6. CNN.com - Could plant ivory save elephants? - Apr 26, 2005
  • Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society and Museum. (MFMHS). n.d. Everything you wanted to know about ivory, but were afraid to ask. Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society and Museum. Retrieved July 19, 2008.

See also

  • Ivory carving

External links

Commons-logo.svg
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:


Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.