Ivory
- Created by: Ruthfeath
- Created on: 29-05-18 14:31
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- Ivory
- Techniques
- An adz, axe or chisel was used to ***** the outer rind from the tusk
- A saw was used to cut the tusk into sections
- An implement known as a float was used to pare the surface
- Fretsaws, gauges and hand chisels were used to actually carve the piece
- Egyptian traditions of ivory carving in relief & ivory inlays or overlays were developed by Mycenaean sculptors
- Ivory was carved in palace workshops, which is known because ivory chippings and full tusks of ivory have been found in the ruins of these workshops
- Key Examples
- Ivory Triad
- Ivory Sphinxes Box
- Ivory Mirror Handle
- Ivory Lion
- Ivory Head, Mycenae
- Ivory Warrior Head
- Royal Gaming Board
- Evidence from Linear B
- Inventory list on Linear B tablet
- Ebony chair with ivory back, which was carved with heifers & other decoration
- Footstool inlaid with a man, a horse, an octopus & a griffin in ivory
- Chariot decorated with ivory
- Tablets also reference ivory workers as a specialised role
- There have been swords found, as referenced in Linear B, with lapis lazuli & ivory inlaid on the hilt
- Inventory list on Linear B tablet
- Purpose of materials & goods
- For the most part ivory was used for decorative purposes, as seen through the sphinxes box & the ivory backed ebony chair
- Because ivory was precious it was also used for religious items - ivory triad
- Ivory was often used to depict animals, mythical & real
- Ivory has also been inlaid on the hilt of a sword
- Decoration
- Another extraordinary object from Knossos was the Royal Gaming Board
- The original object, excavated north of the Loom-weight Basement, was an exceptionally elaborate construction made with inlays of ivory, rock crystal and glass paste, decorated with kyanos blue and gold & silver sheet metal, on a wooden base
- Four ivory gaming pieces were found nearby
- The oldest ivory artefacts are the inlays carved in the form of dogs on the imported box of Egyptian sycamore from Shaft Grave V
- Another extraordinary object from Knossos was the Royal Gaming Board
- Origins, trade & production
- The raw material consisted of the tusks of Syrian elephants and hippos
- It was imported raw from Syria, where the elephant survived until the 9thC
- It is possible that some of the ivory came from Nubia & Somaliland by way of Egypt
- Mycenaean carved ivories were exported to the East Mediteranean
- Problems
- Not reflective of the poorer classes - only the elite could afford such a luxury
- The evidence for ivory is scarce & fragmentary because ivory is subject to decay when buried in damp earth for any length of time
- Ivory can be mistaken for boar tusk or vice versa
- Whilst we know the ivory comes from elephants & hippos, we don't know where these animals were from
- Techniques
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