Carving, recarving, and forgery: Working ivory in the tenth and twentieth centuries

An understanding of the means by which a carved ivory statuette, box, or plaque comes into being is normally not considered integral to its aesthetic appreciation or the comprehension of its intellectual content. Yet for the productions of many cultures such larger knowledge can be shown to be of central importance. If the aim of our studies is the fullest possible awareness of an object’s achievement and effect, then both the nature of the material and the ways in which it was worked are essential parts of the equipment that retrospectively needs to be brought to bear on it. Such information not only can elucidate its origins and history, including its occasional reworking, but also can be instrumental in the identification of modern forgeries.