It is customary to combine the tusks of hippopotamus, walrus, tusks of elephants, narwhals, mammoths and walruses under the name “ivory”.

People have appreciated the virtues of ivory for quite some time now. Compared to wood, ivory is not combustible, does not rot and does not get soaked. Its hardness on the ten-point Mohs scale ranges from 2 to 3. It's about the same hardness as gold.

Initially, ivory was used to make knives, spearheads, arrows, and needles; these objects were decorated with inelaborate ornaments. Due to its durability, low prevalence and beauty, ivory was used on a par with gold, quickly becoming one of the elite materials for making sacred objects and meeting the needs of the nobility. Ivory objects used in funerary rituals were found in Egypt around 4000 BC.  The Old Testament states the throne of that King Solomon was made of ivory. The ancient Greeks began to use ivory to cover sculptures, including giant sculptures. The Romans used ivory to make jewelry and musical instruments. They used this material for inlaying and decorating furniture. Tusk was also used to make Consular diptychs¹⁾. Depending on the era, ivory was used for the production of various household items. These include hookah pipes and various vessels, sword and knife handles, icons, caskets, etc.  Ivory was also used to make billiard balls, dice, and piano keyboards. The bone is easy to work with cutting tools and is polished beautifully. In Asia, this material was used for the production of various figurines, netsuke, and even wicker baskets made of split tusk. Beads, earrings, bracelets, carved figurines, dishware and caskets made of ivory were highly valued. In ancient times, elephants and rhinoceroses were abundant in the river valleys of the Celestial Empire. The tusks and horns of these animals were used to make a variety of products – tools and weapons, objects of worship and everyday life, jewelry. The true masterpieces that appeared in China in the Song era were, of course, puzzle balls, the technique of making which was called “the work of a demon” because of its incredible complexity.

On the cover: Ivory puzzle ball on pedestal. China. The 20^th century

The history of this unique craft – creating puzzle balls with inner spheres that rotate freely one in the other – dates back about 1,000 years.

Ivory is valued for its durability, smoothness, precious colour and ease of processing – this material allows one to carve curlicue patterns with the smallest details. The current demand for ivory is comparable to the demand for diamonds. Both materials are of natural origin and of high cultural value; they are quite expensive. Africa is the main source of elephant tusks: the best grade is exported from Guinea. This material, when fresh, is translucent, hard and less likely to turn yellow over time. Tusks for sale can be up to 2.5 meters long and weigh up to 90 kg, although specimens weighing less than 10 kg predominate. The fossil mammoth bone mined in the tundra in Siberia, on the banks of the Lena River, is almost identical in quality to elephant tusks. Walrus tusks are much smaller and yellower, but in their properties they are very close to ivory. Hippopotamus tusks are covered with very hard enamel (which is absent on elephant tusks), so that it has to be ground or chipped off. The teeth of a sperm whale, in the form of small ellipsoids, also feature yellowish and hard ivory suitable for small crafts.

In addition to natural ivory, “ivory” can also be produced synthetically. Many different plastics have been created in the 20^th century. For example, on marketplaces today popular antique items made of Bakelite, which, although it does not repeat the colour of ivory, but is similar to it in properties. The “French ivory ”²⁾ is known as well. Products made of this material are labelled “Depose France”. In the 21^st century, the material suitable for 3D printing that can replace ivory in terms of its characteristics, has been developed. Fakes are also made of gypsum and burnt mica. The resulting mass has some similarity to the original and can deceive an inexperienced buyer. Japanese chemists have developed a special technology for making “ivory” from various components, such as egg shells or milk fat. This is how they obtain a similar substance to the original. One way to determine the quality of the product is to wipe it with a cloth soaked in vinegar. Real ivory turns white almost instantly, unlike surrogates.

Ivory is often associated with luxury and prestige. The segment of products made from natural materials is becoming increasingly exclusive as supplies of these very materials are exhausted. Nowadays, ivory is used much less due to the fact that hunting of elephants is practically prohibited. Today, not only ivory, but also walrus teeth and tusks, sperm whale teeth, mammoth tusks, camel bones, horse bones, etc. are used to make statuettes, jewelry and other things.

The images of bone carved art items, presented in the museum Collection repository, is posted in the Photo Gallery.

¹⁾ In Late Antiquity, a consular diptych was a type of diptych intended as a de-luxe commemorative object. The diptychs were generally in ivory, wood or metal and decorated with rich relief sculpture. A consular diptych was commissioned by a consul ordinarius to mark his entry to that post, and was distributed as a commemorative reward to those who had supported his candidature or might support him in the future.