What is ivory carving?

Ivory carving is carving on ivory. It is an ancient traditional art. Because ivory is very white, ivory carving can be said to be relatively precious. However, in recent years, with the sharp decline in the number of wild elephants, China has also signed a memorandum banning the smuggling of ivory. Therefore, buying and selling ivory is an illegal act, and protecting wildlife is everyone's responsibility.

Classification

Generally speaking, ivory carving art is divided into four categories: figures, animals, flowers and landscapes. The themes of ivory carvings mainly come from ancient myths and legends and historical celebrities. According to categories, they can be divided into ladies, arhats, Buddhists, warriors and historical figures. Figure drawings generally use the line-drawing technique to show the character's facial expression, body posture, clothing shape, etc. If there is a source, the character's identity characteristics must be emphasized to achieve a perfect artistic effect.

Ivory flower carvings generally feature flowers as the main feature, with birds, butterflies, dragonflies, frogs, etc. as the background. The concrete carvings include peonies, roses, chrysanthemums, magnolias, peach trees, pines, bamboos, plums, etc. The overall shape of the support includes flower baskets, vases, bamboo tubes, folding fans, rockery, etc., which play a good role in matching the main character and the background.

The main animal themes of ivory carvings include tigers roaring in the forest, lions roaring in the valley, roosters crowing at the dawn, fish leaping in the lotus pond, etc. Among them, the twelve zodiac animals occupy a certain position in ivory carving art. The landscape themes in ivory carvings generally depict mountains, rivers, islands, the sun, the moon, and the wind and clouds. Rugged rocks, mottled sea rocks, and rolling and changing clouds are the images that ivory carving artists particularly like to use their knives to create.

Maintenance of ivory carvings

Ivory carvings are organic substances and are relatively delicate. In addition to protecting them from severe damage such as impact, collision, extrusion, fire, high temperature, acids, alkalis and other chemical substances, they are also very sensitive to temperature, humidity, light, and environment. Therefore, ivory carvings should be stored away from light.

1. Ivory is composed of calcium phosphate and organic matter. The unpredictable temperature and dry climate in winter can easily cause ivory to crack, age and become brittle. If ivory cracks, it will make a "cracking" sound. Therefore, the storage environment of ivory products should be kept at a constant temperature as much as possible, and the suitable storage temperature is between 15-25 degrees. 2. Ivory carvings are very sensitive to changes in humidity. Ivory carvings not only contain a certain amount of moisture themselves, but also have the property of absorbing water. They will absorb or release moisture as the environment changes, and their volume will expand or contract accordingly, which will cause the objects to crack or deform due to excessive expansion and contraction. Therefore, the humidity of the environment where ivory carvings are stored should be maintained between 55% and 60%. For some large ornaments, you can learn from the museum's method and cover them with a glass cover, and then put a cup of water in the sealed cover to maintain the humidity environment. In addition, please note that ivory carvings should not be placed in ventilated places.