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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: INV-JED |
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IVORY (Fr. ivoire, Lat. ebur) , strictly speaking a term confined to the material represented by the tusk of the elephant, and for commercial purposes almost entirely to that of the male elephant. In Africa both the male and female elephant produce good-sized tusks; in the Indian variety the female is much less bountifully provided, and in Ceylon perhaps not more than 1% of either sex have any tusks at all. Ivory is in substance very dense, the pores close and compact and filled with a gelatinous solution which contributes to the beautiful polish which may be given to it and makes it easy to work. It may be placed between bone and horn; more fibrous than bone and therefore less easily torn or splintered. For a scientific definition it would be difficult to find a better one than that given by Sir Richard Owen. He says: " The name ivory is now restricted to that modification of den-tine or tooth substance which in transverse sections or fractures shows lines of different colours, or striae, proceeding in the arc of a circle and forming by their decussations minute curvilinear lozenge -shaped spaces." These spaces are formed by an immense number of exceedingly minute tubes placed very close together, radiating outwards in all directions. It is to this arrangement of structure that ivory owes its fine grain and almost perfect elasticity, and the peculiar marking resembling the engine
'Lecture before the Society of Arts (1856).part. Besides the elephant's tooth or tusk we recognize as ivory, for commercial purposes, the teeth of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, cachalot or sperm-whale and of some animals of the wild boar class, such as the warthog of South Africa. I'racticalIy, however, amongst these the hippo and walrus tusks are the only ones of importance for large work, though boars' tusks come to the sale-rooms in considerable quantities from India and Africa. Generally speaking, the supply of ivory imported into Europe comes from Africa; some is Asiatic, but much that is shipped from India is really African, coming by way of Zanzibar and Mozambique
store appears to be as in-exhaustible as a coalfield. Some think that a day may come when the spread of civilization may cause the utter disappearance of the elephant in Africa, and that it will be to these deposits that we may have to turn as the only source of animal ivory. Of late years in England the use of mammoth ivory has shown signs of decline. Practically none passed through the London sale-rooms during 1903-1906. Before that, parcels of 10 to 20 tons were not uncommon. Not all of it is good; perhaps about half of what comes to England is so, the rest rotten; specimens, however, are found as perfect and in as fine condition as if recently killed, instead of having lain hidden and preserved for thousands of year in the icy ground. There is a considerable literature (see SHOOTING
recent
The quality of ivory varies according to the districts whence it is obtained, the soft variety of the eastern parts of the continent being the most esteemed. When in perfect condition African ivory should he if recently cut of a warm, transparent, mellow tint, with as little as possible appearance of grain or mottling. Asiatic ivory is of a denser white, more open in texture and softer to work. But it is apt to turn yellow sooner, and is not so easy to polish. Unlike bone, ivory requires no preparation, but is fit for immediate working. That from the neighbourhood of Cameroon is very good, then ranks the ivory from Loango, Congo, Gabun and Ambriz; next the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Cape Coast Castle. That of French Sudan is nearly always " ringy," and some of the Ambriz variety also. We may call Zanzibar and Mozambique
The market terms by which descriptions of ivory are distinguished are liable to mislead. They refer to ports of shipment rather than to places of origin. For instance, " Malta " ivory is a well-understood term, yet there are no ivory producing animals in that island. Tusks should be regular and tapering in shape, not very curved or twisted, for economy
and flexible that excellent riding-whips have been cut longitudinally from whole tusks. The size to which tusks grow and are brought to market depends on race rather than on size of elephants. The latter run largest in equatorial Africa. Asiatic bull elephant tusks seldom exceed 5o lb in weight, though lengths of 9 ft. and up to 15o lb weight are not entirely unknown. Record lengths for African tusks are the one presented to George V., when prince of Wales, on his marriage (1893), measuring 8 ft. 71 in. and weighing 165 lb, and the pair of tusks which were brought to the Zanzibar market by natives in 1898, weighing together over 450 lb. One of the latter is new in the Natural History Museum at South Kensington ; the other is in Messrs Rodgers & Co.'s collection at Sheffield. For length the longest known are those belonging to Messrs Rowland Ward, Piccadilly, which measure 11 ft. and 11 ft. 5 in. respectively, with a combined weight of 293 lb. Osteodentine, resulting from the effects of injuries from spearheads or bullets, is sometimes found in tusks. This formation, resembling stalactites, grows with the tusk, the bullets or iron remaining embedded without trace of their entry. The most important commercial distinction of the qualities of ivory is that of the hard and soft varieties. The terms are difficult to define exactly. Generally speaking, hard or bright ivory is distinctly harder to cut with the saw or other tools. It is, as it were, glassy and transparent. Soft contains more moisture, stands differences of climate and temperature better, and does not crack so easily. The expert is guided by the shape of the tooth, by the colour and quality of the bark or skin, and by the transparency when cut, or even before, as at the point of the tooth. Roughly, a line might be drawn
Ivory in Commerce, and its Industrial Applications.Almost the whole of the importation of ivory to Europe was until recent
are Liverpool and Hamburg; and Germany, France and Portugal have colonial possessions in Africa, from which it is imported. America is a considerable importer for its own requirements. From the German Cameroon alone, according to Schilling, there were exported during the ten years ending 1905, 452,1.00 kilos of ivory. Mr Buxton estimates the amount of ivory imported into the United Kingdom at about 500 tons. If we give the same to Antwerp we have from these two ports alone no less than l000 tons a year to be provided.. Allowing a weight so high as 30 lb per pair of tusks (which is far too high, perhaps twice too= high) we should have here alone between thirty and forty thoesand elephants to account for. It is true that every pair of tusks that comes to the market represents a dead elephant, but not necessarily by any means a slain or even a recently killed one, as is popularly supposed and unfortunately too often repeated. By far the greater proportion is the result of stores accumulated by natives, a good part coming from animals which have died a natural death. Not 2o% is live ivory or recently killed; the remainder is known in the trade as dead ivory. In 1827 the principal London ivory importers imported 3000 cwt. in 1850, 8000 cwt. The highest price up to 1855 was 55 per cwt. At the my sales in 1905 a record price was reached for billiard-ball teeth of 167 per cwt. The total imports into the United Kingdom were, according to Board of Trade returns, in 1890, 14,349 cwt. ; in 1895, 10,911 CWt. ; in 1900, 9889 Cwt. ; in 1904, 9045 cwt. From Messrs Hale & Son's (ivory brokers, to Fenchurch Avenue) Ivory Report of the second quarterly sales in London, April 1906, it appears that the following were offered: Tons. From Zanzibar, Bombay, Mozambique and Siam 17 Egyptian . . 194 West Coast African . 11 Lisbon I Abyssinian. 64 55 Sea horse (hippopotamus teeth) . 11 Walrus 4 Waste ivory 1o4 674 Hard ivory was scarce. West Coast African was principally of the Gabun description, and some of very fine quality. There was very little inquiry for walrus. The highest prices ranged as follows: Soft East Coast tusks (Zanzibar, Mozambique, Bombay and Siam), 102 to 143 lb. each 66, 1os. to 75, 10s. per cwt. Billiard-ball scrivelloes, 104, per cwt. Cut points for billiard-balls (3k in. to 21 to 3 in.) 114 to 151 per cwt. Seahorse (for best), 3s. 6d. to 4S. Id. per lb. Boars' tusks, 6d. to 7d. per lb. Quantities of ivory offered to Public auction (from Messrs Hale & Son's Reports). 1903. 1904. 1905. Tons. Tons. Tons. Zanzibar, Bombay, Mozambique and Siam 81 75 76 Egyptian . 494 724 811 Abyssinian 224 94 234 West Coast African 461 394 414 Lisbon . 3 3 1 s 2034 200 2244 Seahorse teeth and Boars' tusks . 7 94 74 2104 2094 2311 Fluctuations in prices of ivory at the London Sale-Room (from Messrs Hale ee Son's Charts, which. show the prices at each quarterly sale from 1870). 187o. 1880. 189o. 1900. 1905. Billiard Ball pieces . . . . 55 90 112 68 167 Averages 30 38 50 29 48 Hard Egyptian 36 to 5o lb. . . Soft East Indian 50 to 70 lb. 67 55 88 57 72 West Coast African 5o to 70 lb. 36 57 65 48 61 Hard East African 50 to 70 lb. . 37 49 64 48 61 In October 1889 soft East Indian fetched an average of 82 per cwt., but in several instances higher prices were realized, and one lot reached 88 per cwt. At the Liverpool April sales 1906 about 74 tons were offered from Gabun, Angola, and Cameroon (from the last 5 tons). To the port of Antwerp the imports were 683o cwt. in 1904 and 6570 cwt. in 1905; of which 5310 cwt. and 4890 cwt. respectively were from the Congo State. The leading London sales are held quarterly in Mincing Lane, a very interesting and wonderful display of tusks and ivory of all kinds being laid out previously for inspection in the great warehouses known as the " Ivory Floor " in the London docks. The quarterly Liverpool sales follow the London ones, with a short interval. The important part which ivory plays in the industrial arts not only for decorative, but also for domestic applications is hardly sufficiently recognized. Nothing is wasted of this valuable product. Hundreds of sacks full of cuttings and shavings, and scraps returned by manufacturers after they have used what they require for their particular trade, come to the mart. The dust is used for polishing, and in the preparation of Indian ink, and even for food in the form of ivory jelly. The scraps come in for in-laying and for the numberless purposes in which ivory is used for small domestic and decorative objects. India, which has been called the backbone of the trade, takes enormous quantities of the rings left in the turning of billiard-balls, which serve as women's bangles, 'or for making small toys and models, and in other characteristic Indian work. Without endeavouring to enumerate all the applications, a glance may be cast at the most important of those which consume the largest quantity. Chief
The accompanying diagrams (figs. 1 and 2) show the method; the cuts are made radiating from an imaginary centre of the curve of the tusk. In after processes the various trades have their own particular methods for making the most of the material. In making a billiard-ball of the English size the first thing to be done is to rough out, from the cylindrical section, a sphere about 2* in. in diameter, which will eventually be 2 i/1g or sometimes for pro- fessional players a lit- tle larger. One hemi- sphereas shown in the diagrams (fig. 2) is first turned, and the resulting ring de- tached with a parting tool. The diameter is accurately taken and the subsequent removals taken off in other directions. The End of Article: IVORY (Fr. ivoire, Lat. ebur) If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
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