Ivory Carving: A dying craft

Ivory, which is sourced mainly from elephant tusks (also walruses, rhinos, narwhales etc.) remains one of the most valuable and rare materials for various crafts; its remarkable durability and sustainability added with its white beauty make it an extremely sought after product.

Origin and historical mention

Stone and copper inscriptions record the earliest use of ivory products as far as 6^th century BCE, detailing its export, the association of ivory guilds with temples, decorative works such as palanquins as also rights granted by the state for collection of ivory; the extensive mention of the material and craft insinuates its continuing importance for a long period of time in history. Literary sources like the Sanskrit epics also mention the use of ivory in inlay work, combs, umbrellas, pendants, charms and so on.

Historically, Delhi has been famous for its skill in ivory carving; while ivory carving has been around in the subcontinent since the ancient period, it is especially under the aegis of the Mughal empire with its Persian influence that the craft flourished. Intricate items such as table lamps, traditional chess sets, jewellery boxes, painted panels and jewellery were some of the valuable articles being produced in the medieval period. Some of the everyday items carved out of ivory also include back-scratchers, dagger hilts and gunpowder flasks. The Jahangirnama mentions several of the ivory carvers by name as well as gifts that were given to them for their craft.

Colonial period

While the earlier Mughal patronage declined with the advent of colonial state, the British quickly replaced the Mughals as patrons of ivory products; there was an increased demand for personal ivory editions such as chess sets, yet no particularities on the delicateness of the craft. Thus, the mass-production of the British period is seen to have deliberately harmed the special skill of ivory carving; the historian G.N. Pant is said to have remarked on the decline of ivory-carving in this period from an art to a craft (Martin and Vigne 2007).

With the connections between India and Africa as part of Britain’s imperial empire, African ivory began to be made available in India, further creating a market for the finished products in Europe; ivory sourced from mammoth fossil tusks in Siberia was also supplied to India during this period. The traditional sources of ivory in India continued in the supply section, but were transformed with the added input from European technical knowledge, which now began to govern the traditional crafts sector of the country.

The artisanal community and technique

The community of carvers were commonly known as the hast daant wale or ivory carvers (the Ramayana refers to them as the dantakarah or dantopajivinah); VP Dwivedi presents a detailed examination of the ivory-carving technique that has been in use since prehistoric times. This involves removing the outer bark of the ivory, following which it is cut into smaller sections and designed according to the required article using a handsaw and chisel.

 

Some designs and motifs

A fascinating example of Delhi style was a rich flat arabesque tracing with lace-like perforation arcading mythological or animal panels. (Deshmukh 1976).

Lattice work or jaali work was one of the most complex designs that was also a central feature of Mughal arts and architecture; the jaali design was patterned with geometric and floral motifs. A jewellery box, from the Delhi ivory carvers dated to the beginning of the 20^th century, reflects the importance given to lattice workmanship during this period; according to the description of the National Museum in Delhi, the box was fitted with several delicate small panels, worked in an ogee pattern and each ogee design show symmetrically arranged pair of birds.

Another important ivory item dating to the Mughal period was the priming flask, which held fine-grain gunpowder; the intricate animal carvings on the flask and the overlapping style in which they were etched onto the surface were part of the naturalistic symbolism characteristic of the Mughal designs.

 

Floral carvings were also central to several of the ivory products such as this 17^th-century wood cabinet which was inlaid with ivory; created for European aristocrats, this cabinet, designed by Amin Jaffer, draws upon the floral style of the Mughal period and combined it with the formal structure demanded by the European market. Mughal appreciation for floral designs was particularly evident from paintings produced in Akbar’s court, as well as under Jahangir and Shah Jahan, both of whom had artistic inclinations, thus providing a new impetus to floral motifs.

 

Ban on ivory and trade

The first ban on African ivory came in October 1989, with the declining number of African elephants; the Indian state enforced a similar decision three months after, although the ban on ivory trade was already in place for quite some time. A Traffic India survey in 2001 revealed that despite the ban, several of the ivory carvers were still engaged in the craft, the most prominent of these centres in contemporary times being Murshidabad, Jaipur, Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram.

According to Sudipa Saha, Sutapa Choudhury and Ranjana Ray, the ban on ivory for wildlife protection reveals how a conflict of interest between natural concern and the craft has proved fatal for the latter. While the threat of wildlife extinction has become an important question on the global stage, the parallel threat to artist livelihoods and the craftsmanship has largely been ignored. The intangible aspects of the craft i.e. the skill and legacy of ivory carving remain quite far from any measures for safeguarding the medieval heritage of the city.

According to the Crafts Council of India, the total strength of the ivory carver community was estimated to be 6000 in 1991, with the master craftsmen only numbering a hundred. Some have now been reduced to making trinkets for western or Indian flea markets, while others have turned to cheaper and popular alternatives such as plastic in order to sustain their households.

Many families, whose legacies were once closely intertwined with ivory carving, have also now found new ways with which to pass on their artistic knowledge. Some of them, like the Bondwalas of Bahadurgarh have turned to wood carving, allowing them to showcase their craft traditions in a more sustainable way; others have also begun to use sandalwood which is easier to carve and valuable for its fragrance.

References:

1. https://rajasthanstudio.com/the-natural-ivory-art-that-uses-bones-horns-tusks/

2. Dwivedi, Vinod P. Indian Ivories: a Survey of Indian Ivory And Bone Carvings From the Earliest to the Modern Times. Delhi: Agam Prakashan , 1976.

3. TRAFFIC India, ‘An assessment of the Domestic Ivory Carving Industry and Trade Controls in India.’ TRAFFIC online Report Series 7, 2003.

4. Martin, Esmond Bradley and Lucy Vigne, ‘The Decline and Fall of India’s Ivory Industry.’ Pachyderm, vol.  12, 1989. 

5. Saha, Sudipa, Sutapa Choudhury and Ranjana Ray, ‘Cultural Heritage Management of the Traditional Crafts Using Vulnerable Natural Resources: A Case Study on the Ivory Craft of Murshidabad, West Bengal, India.’ Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology, vol. 9, 2021-22, pp. 872-908