Ivory and the elephant in art, in archaeology, and in science,

Abstract

The author states that other volumes have satisfactorily presented ivory carving but 'it remains possible to enlarge the scope of investigations so as to combine the purely esthetic side of the subject with the study of the sources of this fascinating material...In this connection data regarding the history of man's knowledge of the elephant and of the methods followed by elephant hunters of various times and lands'. The first three chapters introduce the reader to prehistoric, medieval, oriental and a number of nineteen century ivory pieces of various sizes and carved for many different purposes. Chapters four to six focus on historic knowledge of the elephant, elephant hunting, and sources, composition and qualities of ivory. Chapters seven to nine focus on the working of ivory, imitation ivory and ivory other than that from elephant. Chapters ten and eleven discuss the evolution of elephants and their relatives and elephant tusks, while the last chapter is devoted to commerce. Appendices include a list of historical and present European based ivory carvers, and present day Chinese and Japanese carvers.