EastAsianCarvingIvorycarvingisoneofChina’soldestarts,andexa
mplesofskillfullycarvedivoryhavebeenfoundinthetombsof
theShangdynasty(c.16thcentury–1046BCE)kings;thesepieces
aresowelldesignedandexecutedthattheysuggestalongprevio
usdevelopment,probablygoingbacktoprehistorictimes.Inanci
entChinaelephantsstillroamedtheforestsoftheHuangHe(Yel
lowRiver)region,sothatthesupplyofivorywascloseathand.
AtthecourtoftheZhoudynasty(1046–256BCE)itbecamefashio
nableforprincesandhighofficialstocarrynarrowmemorandumt
abletsofivory.Calledhu,theseweregenerallywornasgirdlep
endants.IntheHandynasty(206BCE–220CE)theseivorytablets
cametobeconsideredasmarksofrankandwererequiredforform
aldress.Later,duringtheTangdynasty(618–907)andtheSongd
ynasty(960–1279),thesetabletsweregreatlyelongatedandwere
carriedbycourtofficialsasakindofsceptreaswellasawrit
ingsurfaceformemoranda.Thetabletscontinuedtobecarriedas
amarkofhighcourtrankuntilthefalloftheMingdynastyin
the17thcentury.Someivoryfigurineshavealsosurvivedfromth
eseperiodsinChinesehistory.Othercarvingsconsistofflativ
orypiecesthatwerepaintedorstainedadarkcolourandthenca
rvedtoformintricatepatternsofbirdsandanimalsorgeometric
figures,thecarvingsfinallybeingstainedwithothercolourso
rleftplain.BySongdynastytimestheelephantshadbeendriven
farintothewildernessareasofsouthwestChina(modernYunnan),
whichthenbelongedtoanothernation,thekingdomofNanzhao.A
ccordingly,newsourcesofivoryweresoughtoverseas,andatthi
stimethefirstAfricanelephanttuskswerebroughtfromZanziba
rtoChinabyArabtraders.Thenewnationalistic-mindedMingdyn
asty,afteroverthrowingtheMongolYuandynasty,proceededinth
e14thcenturytorevivetheartofivorycarving,andarenaissa
nceoffinecraftsmanshipresulted.TheMingivorycarvingsthat
havesurvivedaremostlyhandsomelycarvedfigures,notstainedo
rpaintedbuthavingthenaturalcolouringofivory.Thetraditio
noffineMingcarvingseemstohavecarriedoverintothefirst
halfoftheQingdynasty(1644–1912).Theartofcolouringivory
wasrevivedatthistime,andbothstainsandlacquerswereused
toenhancethedelicatelycarvedfiguresthatmanyconnoisseursh
aveconsideredthefinestproductionsoftheChinesecarvers’art
.WorkshopsinBeijingandGuangzhou(Canton)werethemaincentr
esofivorycarving,producingfigures,singlyoringroups;cyli
ndricalbrushboxes,tablescreens,andarmrestsandotherdeskf
ittingscarvedinlowandhighrelief;sceptres;snuffbottles,s
nuffdishes,andaccessoriesforopiumsmoking;standsforfinep
orcelains;andperfumeboxes,mirrorcases,andothertoiletarti
clesforcourtladies.Shanghaiworkshopsproducedsuchutilitari
anobjectsaschopsticks,Mah-Jonggsets,combs,andseals.Beijin
gandGuangzhoucontinuedtobecentresforthefinestChineseiv
orycarvinguntilafterthefalloftheQingdynastyin1912.In
subsequentyearstheoutputdeclined,resultingfromthelackof
Imperialpatronage.Fromthattimeon,theindustrywasdevotedc
hieflytosupplyingforeignresidentsandtouristswithivorycan
es,cardcases,andotherobjects.Becausethesebuyerswerenot
discriminating,thequality,whichhadbeendecliningafterthem
id-19thcentury,deterioratedatanacceleratingpace.Itisnotp
ossibletoclaimanygreatantiquityforivorycarvinginJapan.
Althoughtheylearnedtheartratherlate,theJapaneseivorycar
versoftheTokugawaperiod(1603–1867)quicklydevelopedanasto
nishingmasteryofthismediumandcreatedmanyminiatureworkso
fartthatstillexciteadmiration.IvorywasusedinJapantopr
oducesuchobjectsastheplectrumforpluckingthestringsofth
esamisenandtheendsoftherollersfortraditionalscrollpain
tings.Itsmajorartisticuse,however,wasforthetogglelikepi
ecescallednetsuke,whichformedanindispensableitemofmen’s
costumesintheTokugawaperiod.Netsukewereusedtofastenthe
medicinebox(inro)andpipeandtobaccopouchestoaman’ssash.
Theywereoftendelicateandexquisitelycarvedminiaturefigure
s,landscapes,oranimals.WiththeendoftheTokugawaregimein
1867,newcustomsofdress,andtheintroductionofthecigarett
eshortlyafter,netsukebecameobsolete.Theirformercarvers,l
iketheChinese,graduallyturnedtomakingthingsforforeignre
sidentsandtourists,producingjewelboxes,chests,cardcases,
chesspieces,buttons,brooches,andotherobjectstoappealtoV
ictoriantastes.Byabout1900,endlessrepetitionandtheuseof
machinetoolsformassproductionhaddestroyedtheremainingel
ementsoftheart.Fromthattimeon,mostJapaneseivorycarving
hasbeendirectedtowardthecopyingofoldnetsuke,completewi
thsignaturesofdeadartists,andtheforgingofChineseivorya
ntiquities.OtherCarvingTraditionsFromthetimeofMuhammadorb
efore,ivorywasusedextensivelyintheMiddleEastandinMusli
m-ruledSpaintodecoratefurniture,doors,caskets,andminbars
(pulpits).Thedecorationconsistedofgeometricandplant-forma
rabesques,sometimesinhabitedbybirdsandanimals.Ivorywasalw
aysplentifulinIndia,butfewcarvedivorypieceshavesurvived
toillustratetheartduringmostofthe4,000yearsithasbeen
practicedthere.SomeHinduandBuddhistfigurescarvedinther
oundareextant,alongwithlittleboxesandsomereliefs.Theear
lyInuit,orEskimo,ofnorthernNorthAmericalackedmostuseful
metals,andsotheyfashionedtheivoryfromwalrustusksandbu
riedmammothtusksintoavarietyofutilitarianobjects,suchas
buckethandles,bowdrills,pipes,harpoonshafts,andneedlecases.Theyetchedtheseobjectswithgeometricorgracefullycurvingpatternsoffinelines.Anothertypeofivorycarvingisthatofscrimshaw,whichisthedecorationofwhales’teethorwalrustuskswithvariousdesignsandimages,carriedoutbywhalersintheUnitedStatesduringthe19thcentury.https://www.britannica.com/art/ivory-carving/East-Asian-carving |
|
