ORIENTAL IVORY CARVINGS 111 



noted as a locality in which some of the best Indian carving 

 is done. 



A particular fancy for such objects has induced some of 

 the chiefs of Orissa and certain of the wealthy landlords of 

 Behar to give constant employment to one or more ivory 

 carvers so that they may exercise their art without being 

 dependent upon the chance of selling their product. Some 

 of the objects so produced are quite valuable, as, for example, 

 a mat made of strips of ivory that was sent to the Calcutta 

 Exhibition by the Maharajah of Darbhanga; this was valued 

 at 1,325 rupees ($440). At one time the production of such 

 mats was a specialty of Sylhet, in Assam, but few are now 

 made there; indeed, the art of ivory working is practically 

 extinct in Assam to-day. In 1879 the usual prices for these 

 mats was from £20 to £60 apiece ($100 to $300).* 



Travancore has produced some good examples of Indian 

 work, such, for instance, as the ivory throne with a footstool 

 sent as a gift to Queen Victoria and shown in the London 

 Exhibition of 1851. Sir Purdon Clarke also noted a very 

 beautiful ivory casket from the same region in the Exhibition. 

 At present a great many attractive small objects are made 

 here, among these paper weights variously carved, with 

 the design of a boa constrictor entwined about the body 

 of an elk, a bird and a snake, an areca tree, a bird's nest, 

 etc. 



Many fair specimens of Indian ivory carving are figured 

 in the Journal of Indian Art and Industry.^ One represents 

 the victory of Durgah over Mahishasura, king of the demon 

 race called the Asurs. While the artistic qualities of this 

 composition can hardly be considered very remarkable, it 



*See James Donald, "Ivory Carving in Assam," the Journal of Indian Art and Induttry, 

 Vol. rX, No. 75, p. 57, July, 1901. 



fAndrews, "The Elephant in Art and Industry," in the Journal of Indian Art and In- 

 dustry, Vol. X, pp. 55-64. 



