Ivory is a hard, white material from fangs (traditionally elephants) and animal teeth, which can be used in art or manufacturing. It consists mainly of dentin, one of the physical structures of teeth and fangs. The chemical structure of teeth and fangs of mammals is the same, regardless of species of origin. Certain dental and canine trade besides elephants is well established and widespread; therefore, "ivory" can be used appropriately to describe mammalian teeth or ivory from commercial interests large enough to be carved or destroyed. It has been appreciated since ancient times to make various items, ranging from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, dominoes, and tubes together. The ivory elephant is the most important source, but the ivory of mammoth, walrus, hippopotamus, sperm whale, killer whale, narwai pig and wart are also used. The deer also have two ivory teeth, which are believed to be the remains of ivory from their ancestors.
National and international trade in endangered species ivory like African and Asian elephants is illegal. The word ivory is basically derived from ancient Egypt ÃÆ' Â ¢ b, ÃÆ' Â ¢ bu ("elephant"), through Latin ebor - or ebur .
Video Ivory
Usage
Both the Greek and Roman civilizations practiced ivory carvings to create a large number of valuable artwork, valuable religious objects, and decorative boxes for expensive items. Ivory is often used to form white eye sculptures.
There is some evidence of whether the whales or walrus tusks were used by the ancient Irishmen. Solinus, a Roman writer in the 3rd century claimed that the Celtic people in Ireland would decorate their swords with the 'teeth of animals swimming in the sea'. Adomnan of Iona wrote the story of St. Columba giving a sword decorated with carved ivory as a gift the peniten would bring to his master so that he could redeem himself from slavery.
The population of the Syrian and North African elephants is reduced to extinction, possibly due to the demand for ivory in the Classical world.
The Chinese have long appreciated ivory for art and utilitarian objects. Early references to Chinese ivory exports were noted after Chinese explorer Zhang Qian ventured westward to form an alliance to enable free movement of Chinese goods to the west; as early as the first century BC, ivory was moved along the North Silk Road for consumption by western countries. The Southeast Asian empire includes ivory Indian elephants in their annual tribute caravans to China. Chinese craftsmen carve ivory to make everything from gods to pipes and end pieces of opium pipe.
Buddhist cultures in Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, have traditionally taken ivory from their pet elephants. Ivory is rewarded for containers because of its ability to keep airtight seals. It is also usually carved into a complicated seal used by officials to "sign" documents and decisions by stamping them with their unique official seals.
In Southeast Asian countries where Muslim Malays live, like Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, ivory is the preferred ingredient for making kris dagger. In the Philippines, ivory is also used to create the face and hands of the Catholic icon and a picture of the common saints in the Santero culture.
Teeth and ivory can be carved into various forms and objects. Examples of modern carved ivory objects are okimono, netsukes, jewelry, cutlery, furniture inlays, and piano keys. In addition, wild boar ivory, and teeth from sperm whales, orcas, and hippos can also be crushed or superficially carved, thus retaining their recognizable morphological form.
The use of ivory in the last thirty years has moved towards mass production of souvenirs and jewelry. In Japan, the increase in wealth led to the consumption of white ivory hanko - the name seal - which before this time was made of wood. These hanko can be carved out in seconds using a machine and partly responsible for the massive decline of African elephants in the 1980s, when the population of African elephants changed from 1.3 million to about 600,000 in ten years.
Maps Ivory
Consumption before plastic
Prior to the introduction of plastics, ivory has many ornamental and practical uses, mainly because of the white color that is presented when processed. It was formerly used for making cutter handles, billiard balls, piano keys, Scottish bagpipes, buttons and a variety of ornamental items.
The synthetic substitute for ivory in the use of most of these items has been developed since 1800: the billiard industry challenges inventors to come up with alternative materials that can be produced; the piano industry left the ivory as a key cover material in the 1970s.
Ivory can be taken from dead animals - however, most ivory comes from elephants that are killed for their fangs. For example, in 1930 to get 40 tons of ivory requires the killing of about 700 elephants. Other animals that are now threatened with extinction, such as hippos, which have very hard white tusks that are very valuable for making artificial teeth. In the first half of the 20th century, Kenya's elephant herd was destroyed by the demand for ivory, which was used for piano keys.
During the era of Art Deco from 1912 to 1940, dozens (if not hundreds) of European artists used ivory in the production of chrysellephantine statues. Two of the most frequent ivory users in their artwork are Ferdinand Preiss and Claire Colinet.
Availability
Due to the rapid decline in the animal population that produces it, imports and sale of ivory in many countries are prohibited or severely restricted. In the ten years before the decision in 1989 by CITES to ban international trade in African elephant ivory, the population of African elephants declined from 1.3 million to about 600,000. It was found by investigators from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) that the sale of CITES supplies from Singapore and Burundi (270 tons and 89.5 tons each) has created a system that increases the value of ivory in the international market, thus rewarding international smugglers and giving them ability to control trade and continue new ivory smuggling.
Since the ivory ban, some South African countries claim their elephant populations are stable or increasing, and argue that ivory sales will support their conservation efforts. Other African countries opposed this position, stating that new ivory trade places their own elephant populations under greater threat than hunters who react to demand. CITES allowed the sale of 49 tons of ivory from Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Botswana in 1997 to Japan.
In 2007, under pressure from the International Fund for Animal Welfare, eBay banned all sales of international elephant ivory products. The decision came after several massacres of African elephants, especially the 2006 Zakouma elephant massacre in Chad. IFAW found that up to 90% of elephant transactions on eBay violate their own wildlife policies and potentially become illegal. In October 2008, eBay expanded the ban, banning ivory sales on eBay.
More recent sales in 2008 of 108 tons from three countries and South Africa occurred in Japan and China. The inclusion of China as an "approved" importing country created a major controversy, albeit supported by CITES, the World Wide Fund for Nature and Traffic. They argue that China has control and sales may push prices. However, ivory prices in China have skyrocketed. Some believe this may be due to deliberate price fixing by those who bought stockpiles, echoing warnings from the Japan Wildlife Conservation Society of pricing after the sale to Japan in 1997, and a monopoly given to merchants who bought stock from Burundi and Singapore in the 1980s, an.
Despite the prevailing arguments in the ivory trade over the last thirty years through CITES, there is one fact in which almost all informed parties now agree - African elephant hunting for ivory is now greatly increased.
The debate surrounding ivory trade is often described as Africa vs the West. However, in fact the South Africans have always been in a minority in the African elephant states. To reaffirm this point, 19 African countries signed the "Accra Declaration" in 2006 calling for a ban on total ivory trade, and 20 states attending a meeting in Kenya calling for a 20-year moratorium in 2007.
Controversy and conservation issues
The use and trade of elephant ivory is controversial because they have contributed to a serious decline in the elephant population in many countries. It is estimated that consumption in Britain alone in 1831 amounted to the death of nearly 4,000 elephants. In 1975, Asian elephants were placed in Appendix One of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which prevented international trade between member states. African elephants were placed in Appendix One in January 1990. Since then, several countries in southern Africa have populations of "registered elephants" into Appendix Two, which allow the sale of some stock.
In June 2015, more than a ton of confiscated ivory was destroyed in New York's Times Square by the Wildlife Conservation Society to send a message that illegal trade would not be tolerated. Ivory, confiscated in New York and Philadelphia, was sent to a stone-breaking tire. The Wildlife Conservation Society has shown that global ivory trade leads to the slaughter of up to 35,000 elephants per year in Africa.
China is the largest market for boiled ivory but announced that it will stop domestic production and sales of ivory products in May 2015, and in September 2015 China and the US "said they will impose a ban almost entirely on imports and exports of ivory." has a high level of influence on the elephant population.
Alternate sources
The ivory trade of furry mammoth fangs frozen in the tundra has occurred for 300 years and continues to be legal. Mammoth ivory is used today to make handmade blades and similar tools. Mammoth ivory is rare and expensive because mammoths have been extinct for thousands of years, and scientists hesitate to sell museum-worthy specimens in pieces. Some estimates suggest that 10 million mammoths are still buried in Siberia.
Hard bean species are gaining popularity as a substitute for ivory, although its size limits its usefulness. Sometimes called vegetable ivory, or tagua, and is the endosperm seed of an ivory palm tree commonly found in coastal rainforests of Ecuador, Peru and Colombia.
The walrus ivory fossils of animals that died before 1972 were legal to buy and sell or owned in the United States, unlike many other ivory types.
Gallery
See also
- The destruction of ivory
- ivory carving
- ivory vegetables
- Walrus ivory
- Jim Nyamu
References
External links
- TRAFFIC; New report confirms 'big wave' in 2011 ivory smuggling
- EIA Ivory Blood: Unraveling the myths about regulated markets
- The Federation of Sri Lankan Environmental Organizations: Ivory Blood to the Buddhist Temple?
- The elliptical properties of ivory
- The Ivory Coast International
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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