Ivory
is a useful material for carving reliefs or statuary, or cut up into
thin sheets as inlays or veneer, and the ancient Egyptians used it
for all of these purposes. It is a dense, fine grained material
obtained from the teeth (tusks) of both elephants and hippopotamus.
As a less valuable substitute for ivory, bone was widely available
and used for many of the same purposes. Note that other types of
tusks, such as those of boar or walrus are not known from ancient
Egypt.
Worked ivory is known from the very earliest periods of Egyptian history, including the Predynastic and Early Dynastic periods. Sites such as Hierakonpolis have produced some notable finds, mostly made from that of hippopotamus tusks, though some elephants as well. Hippopotamus were a dangerous and feared animal and their herds were hunted, it seems, for various reasons from the earliest of times. They were a danger to the population as well as to crops in Egypt.
Elephants, on the other hand, had apparently disappeared from
Egypt by the historical period. Nevertheless, some elephant ivory
was brought into Egypt from
Nubia,
while a smaller portion
was
imported from Asia. Populations of both elephants and hippopotami
survived in western Asia into the Late Bronze Age.
However, as ecological factors affected the northerly range of
the elephant, ivory from elephants increasingly came from the more
southerly regions, most probably from African savannas between the
Nile and the Atbara Rivers. The use of elephant ivory increased over
time, as the hippopotamus population decreased in Egypt. The use of
elephant ivory probably reached its peak during the late
18th Dynasty,
most likely during the reign of
Amenhotep III, though its use is richly and well documented in
the
Amarna Letters dating to his son. It became,
we
believe, one of the most significant exports of Upper
Nubia
during the
New
Kingdom, though none of the extant documents quantify the trade.
By the
Third Intermediate Period, far less ivory seems to have been
imported and used in Egyptian art work for the remainder of ancient
Egyptian history, which is somewhat surprising considering the
import of elephants during the
Ptolemaic Period.
Though some examples do exist, this may have resulted from a change
in burial practices, or even simply that much of the material did
not survive, considering that a number of sources during the
Ptolemaic Period indicate that ivory
was
lavishly used. The Ptolemies acquired both ivory and live elephants
both from the Kushite kingdom of Meroe and from India.
Ivory was worked in much the same way as wood. Harpoon tips were
made in Egypt from ivory as early as 4,500 BC. Small objects, such
as game pieces, cosmetic spoons, elements of furniture such as the
bull legs typical of
Early Dynastic periods Graves and parts of statuettes were all
carved in the round from solid pieces of ivory. A number of ivory
seals also exist from Egypt's early Dynastic period, and comprise
some of the most important items found in
1st Dynasty royal
and private tombs. Some larger objects of solid elephant ivory have
survived, such as the headrest from the tomb of
Tutankhamun in the form of the god
Shu.
Mostly though,
tusks
appear to have been split into thin panels that were then used as
veneer or for inlays. Some surviving examples of these are decorated
with carved, low reliefs, and some have been stained, usually either
in blue or red. The lower canines of hippopotamus were used, in
their natural shape, though split and stripped of their enamel, as
musical clappers or as wands. The incisors of hippopotamus, which
are straighter, were well suited for their use as kohl tubes and as
mirror handles. Other items made of
ivory
include combs, bracelets, knife handles and even writing tablets.
Regrettably, today Egypt harbors one of Africa's largest domestic ivory markets, though it is less thriving than a few years ago. Note that almost all of the ivory used in this trade is obtained from illegal sources, mostly from the Sudan. As of 2005, the most active Egyptian ivory market was actually in the Khan el-Khalili, Egypt's most famous tourist bazaar. Though the Egyptian government has been commended for reducing the market, items are still available, but most (if not all) of it may not legally be exported from Egypt, and almost certainly cannot be imported into western nations. Note, however, that most bone is not illegal, and in fact, some of it may even be passed off as ivory in these markets.
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Last Updated: 07/24/2006