Bastinado is a form of torture or punishment (often used in SMsexgames) involving beating the soles of the feet. Originally, bastinado was employed as a method of corporal punishment, consisting of blows upon the soles of the feet, applied with a stick, in the Far East. Research Bastinado
Gurjun is a thin balsam or oil, derived from trees of the genus Dipterocarpus, in Burma and the Far East. It was used for mixing paints, preserving wood from the attacks of white ants, and also medicinally. Research Gurjun
Ivory carving is the art of carving ivory for ornamental or useful purposes, practised from prehistoric to modern times. The ivory most frequently used is obtained from elephant tusks, but other types of ivory or substitute materials include the tusks, teeth, horns, and bones of the narwhal, walrus, and other animals, as well as vegetableivory and synthetic ivories. The earliest ivory carvings known were made in the Old Stone Age. The inhabitants of Europe in the Perigoridan period more than 20,000 years ago produced great numbers of ivory, bone, and horn carvings, with nude female figures being the most common subject. Representations of animals occur most often in the subsequent Magdalenian period. In Egypt the art of ivory and bone carving was developed in predynastic times, before 3000 BC . Large numbers of carved figures of men and women, as well as carved combs, hairpins, and handles, have been found in Egyptian tombs dating from predynastic and early dynastic periods. Objects found in Egyptian tombs of later date include carved ivory weapon hilts and furniture and caskets inlaid with ivory carvings.
Mesopotamian ivories frequently show strong Egyptian influence. They include a series of tablets carved with figures in low relief, made at the ancient Assyrian capital Nineveh. The Minoans in Crete, and later the ancient Greeks, were noted for their ivory carvings. The Minoans carved small acrobats and snake goddesses.
The Greeks were famous especially in the 5th century BC for their chryselephantine statues, often of heroic size, in which the flesh was represented in carved ivory and the hair and garments in sculptured gold. Among the Romans, in late imperial times, consular diptychs of carved ivory were much in demand. A consular diptych was a two-leafed tablet decorated with portraits and scenes commemorating the inauguration of a consul. It contained a sheet of wax for writing and was given to friends. Ivory carving flourished under the Byzantine Empire, particularly in the 5th and 6th centuries and from the 10th to the 13th century. Christian figures, symbols, and scenes were the subjects most commonly depicted on ivory book covers, icons, boxes, shrines, crosiers, crucifixes, door panels, and thrones. A masterpiece of Byzantine ivory is the Throne of Maximilian. Most Byzantine carvings, however, were in the form of a diptych. In Europe during the reigns of Charlemagne and his successors in the 9th and 10th centuries, elaborately carved ivory book covers, reliquaries, and altarpieces were produced.
Relatively little ivory carving was undertaken in Romanesque Europe, but it reached great heights in the Gothic period. Gothic ivories from the 13th to the 15th century were chiefly religious, as in earlier periods, but were more for private devotions than ecclesiastical use. Popular objects included diptychs with deeply carved figures and elaborate architectural decoration. Especially fine work was produced in Paris. During the 15th and 16th centuries, ivory carving was not popular, but in the baroque and rococo periods in the 17th and 18th centuries it again came into vogue, especially in Germany and the Netherlands. German craftsmen were known for richly ornamented ivories; Flemish craftsmen produced statuettes and other sculpture- inspired ivory carvings. France again became an important ivory- carving centre. The chief centres of the industry were the French cities of Dieppe and Paris, where large numbers of crucifixes and other religious objects were produced.
During the 18th century, however, the demand for ivories diminished. Ivory recovered its popularity in decorative arts in the Art Nouveau style at the end of the 19th century. Old ivory carvings are especially valued by 20th-century collectors of ivory, but very little ivory work is now produced in the western hemisphere. Muslim craftsmen in the Middle East created ivory inlay in intricate arabesque patterns on furniture and other woodwork. In the Far East the best-known ivories are those of India, Japan, and particularly China. Indians carved figures of their gods and ornate caskets, often imitating Italian styles. Japanese netsukes, small carved purse toggles, are often made of ivory. The Chinese have traditionally esteemed ivory and encouraged their artists to work in it. The art still flourishes today; objects created include statuettes, chess pieces, fans, screens, toilet articles, chopsticks, and models of buildings and boats. The Chinese are world famous for their ivory curiosities, particularly the concentric ivory balls carved one inside the other by Cantonese craftsmen. In Inuit, African, and American Indian cultures, carving in ivory, horn, and bone has been practised from the earliest times to the present day. Research Ivory Carving
A jinricksha (commonly abbreviated to rikshaw) is a light, two-wheeled, hooded carriage drawn by one or more people, popular in the Far East. Research Jinricksha
The Broom Moth (Ceramica pisi) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 32 and 37 mm peculiar to sub-montane habitats in central and northern Europe across Asia to the Far East. A single generation is produced flying for a short time between May and June. Research Broom Moth
The Emperor moth (Saturnia pavonia) is a moth of the silk-worm family Saturniidae with a wing span of between 40 and 60 mm found across Europe and Asia to the Far East. The colour is greyish-brown, with a faint purple tinge and in the centre of each wing is a large eye-like spot. The larva is of a green colour, with a black band on each segment.They are to be seen flying on sunny afternoons in April and May. Research Emperor Moth
Homalopsinae is a subfamily of reptiles of the family Colubridae (the Typical Snakes) of the sub-order Serpentes (Snakes). The subfamily contains eleven genera and about 35 species found in India through the far East to northern Australia. The members are aquatic, found in fresh water, brackish water and in the sea. All the members are opisthoglyphic with well-formed, grooved venom fangs at the rear of the upper jaw. Research Homalopsinae
Kentish Glory (Endromis versicolora) is the only moth of the family Endromidae. It has a wing span of between 50 and 65 mm and is found in the birch forests of Europe, including mountainous regions, and east across Asia to the Far East. It flies from March to May. Research Kentish Glory
Leptotyphlopidae is the 'Worm Snakes' family of reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (snakes). The members consist of about forty species in two genera native to the Americas, Africa and Asia as far east as India. The members are the smallest snakes, very slender and resembling worms. They live mainly in ant and termite nests where they feed largely on the larvae and the pupae. They are devoid of teeth in the upper jaw. Research Leptotyphlopidae
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Bastinado
