皆さまこんにちは。スタッフHでございます。

 

 

 

 

 

２．登録票の取得

個人の所有も含め、象牙の原型をとどめている１本物は登録票がないと譲渡・売買ができません。たとえ彫り物がしてあっても、原型が残っている象牙は環境省に登録する必要があります。

この「国際希少野生動物種登録票」がなければ所有することができません。ただし、加工されていて原型が残っていない象牙製品は該当しません。

 

象牙製品は高級な嗜好品ですので、査定を受ける際には特別国際種事業者として認定されているお店を選ぶことが重要です。ご自宅にある象牙の価値はどのくらいだろう？と疑問に思われましたら、信用のある業者で一度鑑定してもらうことをお勧めします。

 

 

 

 

Hello everyone. This is Staff H.

Today, I would like to write about the handling of “ivory,” which is often consulted among the items that are difficult to dispose of when cleaning out one’s house.

Ivory has been treated as a precious article since ancient times, and has been used for sculptures, antiques, furniture, and ornaments since ancient times because it has both moderate hardness and softness that can be easily processed. The tusks of most mammals have well-developed canine teeth, while ivory has well-developed portal teeth.

Ivory, also called ivory, is characterized by a light yellowish color. The smooth milky-white skin and the warm candy-colored texture produced by age have attracted people. Ivory has a characteristic stripe pattern called rosette pattern, which is a standard to distinguish the authenticity of ivory. Also, the further to the tip, the closer to the center, the more valuable it is considered.

I will briefly explain the points to be noted when handling ivory artifacts.

Regulations by Washington Convention

It is thought that ivory taken from elephants that died of natural causes in Africa was used until the Middle Ages. However, due to their beauty and ease of processing, elephants were overhunted for their ivory. As a result, the number of African elephants, which had numbered 10 million at the beginning of the 20th century, plummeted to 650,000. With a sense of crisis, the international trade of ivory was banned by the Washington Convention in 1989. Only ivory or its processed products that were owned domestically before this treaty are allowed to be transferred and sold.

2. obtaining a registration card

The transfer and sale of one original ivory that retains its original form, including private ownership, is not allowed without a registration slip. Even if it is carved, ivory that still retains its original form must be registered with the Ministry of the Environment.

Without this “International Rare Wildlife Species Registration Card”, you cannot own it. However, ivory products that have been processed and do not retain their original form do not fall under this category.

3. ivory can be handled by the following companies

From June 1, 2018, in order to prevent illegal trade of ivory products in Japan, the revised “Law for Conservation of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora” (Law for Conservation of Species) has been enforced, and businesses that manufacture and sell ivory products, etc. in Japan are required to notify the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry as a “Special International Species Business Operator,” and renew the registration every 5 years In addition, if they fail to register as a “Special International Type Business Operator”, they are required to renew their registration every five years.

In addition, the penalties for failing to register or engaging in transactions that violate the “Law for the Conservation of Species” have been strengthened, and prison sentences are now also sought.

4.Ivory Crafts

It is said that the technique of carving ivory was introduced to Japan from China in the Nara period (710-794). In the Edo period, ivory crafts such as netsuke, hair ornaments, and combs were favored by samurai and common people, and their artistic value was gradually enhanced.

In the Meiji period (1868-1912), elaborate ivory crafts were exhibited at international expositions as part of the industrial development industry.　In the Taisho and Showa periods, Western pipes were introduced and ivory smoking implements were made. In modern times, ivory is also used for seals and Japanese musical instruments.

5. famous ivory artists

With the increase in the artistry of ivory crafts, there appeared artists who carved ivory, called “tusk carvers”. Some of them are introduced below.

Asahi Gyokusan (1843-1923)

He was born in a temple in Asakusa, Tokyo, and once became a Buddhist priest, but taught himself to carve, producing elaborately carved netsuke with frogs, dogs, spiders, and other creatures as his subjects. In the Meiji era (1868-1912), he became interested in human bones, and his “dokuro” netsuke were well received. After serving as a juror at expositions, he exhibited his “Kannjo Okimono” at the Japan Art Association in 1901, a large work made by joining several pieces of tusk wood, which was highly acclaimed.

Mitsuaki Ishikawa (1852-1913)

Born into a family of shrine carpenters responsible for building temples and shrines, Ishikawa became an active sculptor based on his skills. Together with Asahi Gyokusan, he started a sculpture study group that later became the “Tokyo Engraving Society. His representative work is “Ancient Hawk Hunting Ornament,” which was exhibited at the Paris Exposition of 1900 and was highly regarded as representing the very moment of releasing a hawk.

 

Ando Ryokuzan (1885-1955)

Active as a tusk carver from the Taisho era (1912-1926) to the early Showa era (1926-1989), Ando left more than 50 works featuring familiar objects such as vegetables and fruits.

His works are characterized by their superb technique and super-realism, and are characterized by the use of coloring on ivory. At that time, the royal road of tusk carving was to carve on a white surface, but in his own unique style, Midoriyama applied vivid colors, saying, “When colors are applied to ivory, they bleed into the ivory and produce a unique flavor. However, the high level of skill was not appreciated at the time because it was considered to be out of the mainstream.

In the 21st century, Ryokusan’s craftsmanship was praised as “superb technique,” and his fame increased. His representative work, “Bamboo shoots and plum blossoms,” is made with such precision that it could be mistaken for the real thing, and even the hairs of the bamboo shoots are delicately expressed.

 

Ivory products are high-class luxury goods, so it is important to choose a store that is certified as a special international species business when receiving an appraisal. How much is the value of the ivory in your home? If you wonder how much your ivory is worth, we recommend you to have it appraised once at a trustworthy business.

 

See you next time!