South Kensington Museum art handbooks no. 2

Ivories Ancient and Mediæval

These Handbooks are reprints of the dissertations prefixed to the large catalogues of the chief divisions of works of art in the Museum at South Kensington; arranged and so far abridged as to bring each into a portable shape. The Lords of the Committee of Council on Education having determined on the publication of them, the editor trusts that they will meet the purpose intended; namely, to be useful, not alone for the collections at South Kensington, but for other collectors by enabling the public at a trifling cost to understand something of the history and character of the subjects treated of. Every description or account of Carvings in Ivory ought to include similar carvings in bone, of which last many remarkable examples are to be found in the South Kensington and other museums. The rarity and value of ivory frequently obliged workmen to use the commoner and less costly material. In the strictest sense, no substance except the tusk of the elephant presents the characteristic of true ivory, which, now, according to the best anatomists and physiologists, is restricted to that modification of dentine or tooth substance which, in transverse sections or fractures, shows lines of different colours or stri proceeding in the arc of a circle, and forming by their decussations minute curvilinear lozenge-shaped spaces. Upon this subject the reader should consult a valuable paper, read by professor Owen, before the Society of Arts, in 1856, and printed in their journal. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 61471
Author: Maskell, William
Release Date: Feb 21, 2020
Format: eBook
Language: English