Endangered species: ivory

Scrimshaw, or carved bone and ivory, is very collectable, but the signature and scenes on this 7in (18cm) long whale’s tooth put it in a special league.

A CHALK drawing of an ‘elephant graveyard’ appeared earlier this month at the entrance to the Portobello Road Market. The three-dimensional pavement art depicting an elephant carcass was the work of representatives for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), who in recent years have singled out the weekly antiques market in its campaign to curb the illegal trade in modern elephant ivory.

EBAY are to ban the sale of ivory products on its USA site from January.

A Kent dealer has received a two-year suspended sentence following a three-year international operation into ivory and whale-tooth smuggling. The case is the latest under Operation Charm, an ongoing campaign against the illegal trade in endangered species in London.

ONLINE auction giant eBay is banning cross-border sales of ivory on all their websites. The company announced that from the end of this month sellers will only be allowed to list ivory items for sale in their own country.

EBay’s global network is encouraging the illegal trade in elephant ivory says an investigative report from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

THE British Antique Dealers’ Association believe campaigners are wrong to call for only independent registered experts to be allowed to date ivory objects. The move would drive trade underground they say.

CAMPAIGNERS against the illegal trade in ivory want to end the exisiting policy which allows any antique dealer to appraise the age of ivory in works of art.

The continued demand for Art Nouveau and the ageless appeal of the female nude provided a winning combination at the sale held by Richard Winterton (11% buyer’s premium) at Burton-on-Trent on March 13.

Uncertain of just how widespread a reaction they would receive on the lot, Walker Barnett & Hill of Shropshire estimated this rare pair of 19th Century Japanese Carved Wood & Ivory Figures of two young boys, one with a hobby horse, the other playing a flute, measuring 10in (25cm) high, conservatively at £500-700.