Ivory carvers try to find ways to keep skills alive
Print Edition
For Weng Yaoxiang, the 鈥渋vory ball鈥 he is working on is definitely not his most complex piece, but may be the most memorable.
It is a farewell gift, signaling the end of his 40-year career on elephant ivory carving.
鈥淚t won鈥檛 be and can鈥檛 be sold. It鈥檚 just something about my lifelong passion,鈥 he said.
Standing in stark contrast to Weng鈥檚 sense of loss, China鈥檚 State Forestry Administration announced that the country had ended the commercial processing and sales of ivory at the end of 2017 as planned, calling it China鈥檚 鈥渘ew year gift to the elephant.鈥
Under the trading ban, the fate of Weng鈥檚 last work will be determined by his employer, the Daxin ivory carving factory in southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.
The ban affects 34 processing enterprises and 143 designated trading venues, with all of them suspending businesses, according to the administration.
鈥淲hile most senior carvers are near retirement age, young technicians have to consider their future,鈥 said Mo Junhao, deputy head of the factory, which was founded in the 1950s. 鈥淭he factory can鈥檛 earn money any longer.鈥
Ivory carving requires high standards of craftsmanship. Weng鈥檚 son has learned ivory carving for the past four years, but is still not ready in his father鈥檚 eyes.
Listed as state-level intangible cultural heritage since 2006, China鈥檚 traditional ivory carving art peaked in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
In the early Qing Dynasty, Guangzhou was a rare Chinese port allowing foreign trade. Foreign merchants brought ivory to the city, boosting local carving business.
The 鈥渋vory balls鈥 Weng specializes in are representative of Guangzhou-style carving. A hollowed-out ivory ball is carved into multiple layers, with each layer able to rotate.
Weng鈥檚 last work has 41 layers, while his record is 51 layers. 鈥淓ach layer is less than 1 millimeter thick,鈥 said Weng.
鈥淎 layer can鈥檛 be too thin or too thick. Or it will be too fragile or not exquisite enough.鈥
Despite their sorrow, carvers said they support the ban and understand the significance of elephant protection.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the population of African elephants declined by 111,000 over the past 10 years.
In 2015, China joined global efforts, announcing it would phase out the ivory trade and ban imports of ivory and ivory products.
Mo said the factory only processed legally imported ivory and coded each tusk.
鈥淔or an ivory piece, we clearly recorded how much material was used and how much was left,鈥 Mo said.
鈥淭he statistics were reported to the State Forestry Administration, and any use of illegal ivory would be immediately detected.鈥
Carvers worry the art will become a thing of the past, as the market vanishes.
A 2016 document issued by the State Council said, 鈥淐ultural authorities should help with the transformation of ivory carving masters and other practitioners in the business.鈥
Some carvers are finding substitutes for elephant tusks, such as mammoth ivory.
鈥淢any mammoth tusks were buried for more than 10,000 years underground and have lost their properties,鈥 Weng said.
Despite the difference, Weng and his son have switched to mammoth ivory carving.
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