XXXI 
IVORY 
399 
Ivory work attained great perfection among the 
Chinese, Japanese, and Hindus. It is 
a curious fact that next to religious 
objects some of the most exquisite ex¬ 
amples of ivory-carving are chessmen, 
and many beautiful examples come from 
China. Favourite subjects among the 
ivory carvers of India are the gods 
worshipped by the Hindus. 
The Japanese ivory-carvers are best 
known in the Western world by their 
skill in producing clever, ingenious and 
often life-like figures of animals in their 
well-known nitsuke or large buttons : 
some of them 
are m a d e 
from the tusk 
of the nar¬ 
whal, and 
tourists are 
often invited 
to buy them 
on the ground 
that they are 
made from 
the horn of 
the unicorn. 
Ivory is 
also employ¬ 
ed as an inlay 
material for 
fancy tables, 
and it has 
even been 
used in bulk 
for the con¬ 
struction of 
chairs and thrones. Solomon’s “Great throne of 
The natives of East Africa and the Congo Forest 
fashion trumpets from tusks. A powerful man can 
make a great noise with one. On the West Coast 
they are used in fetish worship. (British Museum.) 
