Ivory Carving

India especially the state of Karnataka is a land of elephants and hence a place which has excelled in the art of ivory carving. This art is unique and surpasses all other handicrafts of India in its style, representation and above all its beauty.

Ivory carving is a predominant craft practiced in the entire state of Karnataka. If you visit a village of sculptors you will witness people of all ages busy with their chisels, knives and fine files in making wonderful pieces of ivory craft.

The ivory carving depicts mostly the images of god and goddess. These include especially the images of Lord Krishna in various moods. You will also find the images of the mother goddesses.

Apart from the religious motifs and the images of the deities, the ivory carving of Karnataka include:

• various ornaments like earrings, bracelets, necklaces etc.
• unique showpieces with intricate designs
• small ornament boxes
• sticks with ivory handles
• furnitures adorned with ivory
• various animal figures especially depicting the elephant

In the recent years, however the work of ivory carving at Karnataka is going through a phase of setback. The government has become very strict in order to restrict the poaching of elephants. The statistics made for the last few years show that the number of elephants in the state has drastically fallen down chiefly due to poaching. If this is not handled promptly the elephants from Karnataka will be extinct in no time. But most unfortunately this has brought a bad time for the ivory carving.

A few of Mysore's marvelous creations in ivory are preserved in the Heritage Museum in Russia and in the South Kensington Museum, London.