Ivory, bone

Ivory trade began during Antiquity. Very seldom used in the first part of the medieval era, it spreads out in France in the 13^th century. Ivory plate carving was reserved for the elite, essentially Royals, Princes and Church Representatives. It was carved by specialized artists and colored with various pigments and precious materials like gold or lapis-lazuli. During the 15^th century, following the Great Discoveries, Europeans started collecting Asian ivory sculptures like the Burmese representations of Myin Byu Chin, AKA “The Lord with the White Horse”. In 1628 France opened an outpost in Senegal via Dieppe harbor, and issued very fine statuary which generated an immediate success. From 17^th century to the late 19^th century many ivory sculptures were carved, mostly with religious themes, but also with profane themes like those of the German artist Leonhard Kern (1588-1662). During the 20^th century the chryselephantine sculptures associate ivory to other materials like bronze. Today all ivory sales are outlawed, except for the pre-convention pieces, those created before 1975, that may be collected. Some works, like “Le tireur d’épine”created by famous neo-classical sculptor Mikhaïl Ivanovitch Kozlovsy (1753-1802), are available.