IVORY CARVINGS 69 



Ivory tankards adorned with representations in relief 

 were much in favour with the German ivory carvers of the 

 seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The choice of this 

 form was directly conditioned by that of the original ma- 

 terial, for the larger, hollow end of the tusk required but little 

 modification to shape it into the body of such a tankard. At 

 the same time the cover, with its surmounting little statuette, 

 gave the carver an opportunity to show what he could do in 

 the way of modelling and executing a figure in the round. 



A few examples of these tankards could be seen in the 

 Morgan Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 

 New York. Perhaps the best of these is one made by J. H. 

 Mannlich of Augsburg, end of the seventeenth century. 

 The body of this tankard shows a chain of child-figures in 

 bas-relief, while the cover is surmounted by a deftly executed 

 little statuette of the infant Bacchus. 



The great vogue of ivory carving in the Netherlands dur- 

 ing the seventeenth and following century has been attrib- 

 uted in part to the facilities enjoyed by this region in 

 obtaining a plentiful supply of ivory because of the active 

 commerce with the East of the Dutch traders. Another 

 reason that has been alleged is that the influence of the 

 School of Rubens, the "Fleshly School" 'par excellencey 

 contributed to the favour accorded to the soft-toned ivory, 

 so well adapted to render the more delicate hues of the hu- 

 man skin. Indeed, Rubens himself yielded to none in his 

 admiration of ivory as a medium of artistic expression, and 

 by his direct efforts fostered the special development of the 

 art in the Low Countries very powerfully. 



In the "Griine Gewolbe" in Dresden is an elaborate speci- 

 men of ivory carving, more remarkable for the time and 

 patience expended in its production than for its artistic 

 quality. This is a group of no less than 142 figures, carved 

 out of a single piece of ivory by a Neapolitan monk; the 



