Two elephant tusks are cut lengthways.

It contains objects of human use and art: pearl necklaces, chess pieces, sculptures, bracelets, teapots and vases.

Around 30 objects are lined up in the two teeth, which come from an elephant from southern Africa.

But the five-foot tusks are not normal works of art made of ivory.

These are exhibits that were created for the International Colonial Exhibition in Paris in 1931 and are now being shown in the Berlin Humboldt Forum.

At that time, they were intended to illustrate the importance of ivory for industrial society.

Kevin Hanschke

Volunteer.

  • Follow I follow

The “tusks with ivory products” by the ivory carver and artist Monsieur Doderay from Paris, usually exhibited in the Musée du quai Branly in Paris, are a symbol of the processing of one of the oldest materials used in handicrafts.

And they are a symbol of the horror that went hand in hand with the extraction of ivory - the extraction almost always ends fatally for the elephants.

In Europe it was believed to be dependent on the raw material from the colonies of that time.

The front parts of the teeth in particular were used for jewelry and everyday objects because they were the hardest.

For example, the first billiard balls were made from this.

For a set of 16 balls, the tusks of two elephants were needed.

Ivory still fascinates people today

Until the post-war period, the “white gold” was the most popular material for it, it had the right hardness and elasticity to be able to pass the energy of the cue impact from ball to ball. As the once elite sport became a mass phenomenon in the 19th century, particularly in the United States and Europe, the need for ivory grew rapidly. Hundreds of thousands of elephants were killed to ensure the production of the balls. Nevertheless, around 1850 there was a shortage of raw materials and massive price increases. So the search for a replacement material began. Michael Phelan, who is considered the first star among American billiards players, advertised a price of $ 10,000 for an alternative to the ivory ball in 1863. Six years later, John Wesley Hyatt found a material that met the requirements: celluloid.

Ivory still fascinates people today.

The white color and the even shape symbolize purity and innocence - even if there is no question of it during the extraction.

Even the craft, the ivory carving, was extraordinary.

The material was heated with vegetable stock and made elastic, in order to be carved afterwards.

Further processing took place after drying with the finest knives.

Sculptures, combs, jewelry, even furniture were made from it.

The white glowing structure and the soft feel made ivory a luxury product and an everyday object at the same time.