Florentine Work is a kind of mosaic work, consisting of precious stones and pieces of white and coloured marble, which has long been produced in Florence. It is applied to jewellery, and used for table tops, etc. Research Florentine Work
Ivory is an opaque, creamy white, hard, fine-grained, modified dentin that composes the upper incisor teeth of an elephant. Ivory is composed of curved layers of dentine alternating in shade, that intersect one another; the resulting lozenge-shaped structure is elastic and finely grained. The layers of a tusk are deposited from the central pulp, so that the innermost layer is the newest. Most commercial elephant ivory is obtained from the tusks of the African elephant, mainly from eastern and central Africa. (Most of the ivory of the western half of Africa is hard, whereas that from the eastern half is soft. Hard ivory is glassier in texture, harder to cut and more likely to crack than soft ivory.)
Fossil ivory, called odontolite, is a blue variety that is found in small quantities in the frozen soil of northern Siberia. Odontolite was produced by the mammoths of the Pleistocene geological epoch; its blue colour results from saturation by metallic salts. Carved ivory has been used for decorative purposes since the time of the ancient Egyptians. Small pieces of ivory are used for high-quality furniture inlays, chess pieces, and small jewellery. Larger pieces of ivory sometimes have been used in the manufacture of billiard balls, piano keys, and toilet articles.
During the late 1980s, as Africa's elephant herds declined, environmentalists led a world-wide effort to shut down the ivory trade; in 1989 the USA and the European Union banned all ivory imports. Tusks of several other animals such as hippopotamuses, narwhals, sperm whales, and walruses are commonly called ivory and have similar physical properties, and many plastic substitutes for ivory have been developed. Several ivory-like vegetable parts are also used in imitation of ivory; the ivory palm, for example, produces large, white, hard seeds, called ivory nuts, the endosperm of which is commonly known as vegetable ivory. In painting, ivory is a delicate colour deeper in tone than off-white, but not so deep as cream. Research Ivory
Jade carving is the process by which the surface of jade stone is embellished through abrasion. The earliest known carved jades were made in China during the New Stone Age, or Neolithic period. Neolithic jades were usually fashioned as blades, although it is unclear whether they served a utilitarian or ceremonial function.
Excavations conducted at sites settled during the Shang dynasty have yielded a number of carved jades in a variety of forms. Certain shapes predominate, such as the round disk (pi), the ax (kuei), and a cylindrical tube (tsung). These objects probably served a ritual function, either as symbols of rank or as grave furnishings. The most beautiful examples of Shang jade carving, however, are small sculptures and plaques. The discovery, in 1975, of an undisturbed tomb from the Anyang era of the Shang dynasty has yielded the richest group of jade carvings to date. The excavation revealed plaques depicting dragons and various birds, along with near-miniature sculptures of human figures, mythical creatures, and recognisable animals, including an elephant.
The achievements of the Shang jade carvers were adopted and ultimately surpassed by artists of the Chou dynasty. Surface decoration became increasingly sophisticated, with open- work featuring birds and dragons, as well as tiny, individually carved curls. The development of the iron drill is probably responsible for the technical advancements seen in the carvings of this period. Elaborate jade carving continued in popularity during the Han dynasty; in addition, a most notable jade artefact was the so-called funerary suit. Various excavations have yielded corpses encased in a jade form made of thousands of rectangular pieces of jade, sewn together with gold thread, and fitted to the body. Other small jades, previously objects for burial, were now fashioned for the uses of the living. Toilet boxes, drinking vessels, and delightful adornments for the scholar's desk have been preserved from the Han period.
The dating of jade carvings from after the Han dynasty through the Ch'ing dynasty has been highly problematic, as the archaeological evidence is often incomplete. Throughout this period, however, small decorative forms of jade, often depicting animals, flowers, or children, continued in popularity. T'ang and Sung carvers favoured small figures. Drinking and desk vessels, and jadejewellery as well, were widely produced in the Yuan and Ming epochs. During the Ch'ing period, particularly in the 18th century, large jade carvings attained great favour with the emperors and royal officials. Forms were often taken from ancient bronze vessels, reflecting the continuing interest in early art. Landscapes, often paralleling those found on carved bamboo or in paintings, were carefully transcribed onto the surface of enormous jade slabs. Much of this intricacy is still found in Chinese jade work today; traditional design motifs and carving styles also have been retained. China's continuous interest in jade carving was never found in other Asian nations.
The Indians practised a degree of jade work, most notably the Islamic Mughals, who favoured ceremonial weapons with highly decorative jade blades. The most important centre of jade carving outside the Orient was pre-Columbian Mexico and Central America under the Olmec, Aztec, and Mayan rulers. Splendid ceremonial objects-axes, knives, masks, and large animal figures-were produced; the objects are sophisticated in style and highly advanced in technique. Research Jade Carving
Mother of pearl is the iridescent pearly substance which forms the internal layer of many kinds of sea shell. Mother of pearl is widely used in jewellery and other decorative work. Research Mother Of Pearl
A pearl is a lustrous concretion produced by certain bivalve molluscs (muscles and oysters) and valued as a gem. Pearls consist almost entirely of nacre, which is the substance forming the inner layers of the mollusc shells. Nacre, known as mother-of-pearl, is composed primarily of aragonite crystals. The pearl is an abnormalgrowth resulting from the invasion of the body of the mollusc by a minute parasitic worm (it was previously believed to be invasion by a grain of sand or similar which caused the pearl to be produced), which cannot escape and irritates the mollusc which retaliates by coating the irritant with layer upon layer of nacreous material. Both marine and freshwater molluscs produce pearls, but the most valuable varieties originate in the pearl oyster of the Persian Gulf. The most highly prized pearls are spherical. When a pearl that has been cut from the shell presents a hemispherical surface, it is sometimes called a bouton pearl. If a solid pearl has an irregular shape, having grown over a rough object, it is known as a baroque pearl. In the jewellerytrade, pearls are commonly known as pear, bell, or drop, according to the shape. Pearl coloration varies widely, the most prized shades being white, black, rose, and cream. River pearls are produced by freshwater mussels in various parts of the world. China is the principal trader in river pearls. Natural, spherical pearls have been cultured successfully since 1920. In this process a mother-of-pearl bead, from three-quarters to nine-tenths of the diameter of the desired product, is introduced into the
pearl oyster. Over a period of years the oyster deposits layers of nacre around the bead. Cultured pearls are not easily distinguished from genuine pearls except by an expert. The technique of producing spherical cultured pearls was developed in Japan, and the culturing of pearls is a major Japanese industry - a small bead of mother of pearl being inserted into the oyster which grows the pearl around the bead. Artificial pearls, in contrast to cultured pearls, are entirely man-made, largely of glass. Research Pearl
Turtle is a popular name for various species of freshwater and marine reptiles related to the tortoises and belonging to the order Chelonia. Marine turtles are generally herbivores, feeding mainly on sea grasses, however freshwater species eat a range of animals including worms, frogs, and fish. They are all excellent swimmers, having legs that are modified to oar like flippers but which make them awkward on land. The shell is more streamlined and lighter than that of the tortoise. Species include the green turtle Chelonia mydas; the loggerhead Caretta caretta; the giant leathery or leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea, which can weigh half a tonne; and the hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata, which is hunted for its shell which provides the tortoiseshell, used in jewellery and ornaments, and is now an endangered species. Other turtles suffer because their eggs are taken by collectors and their breeding sites are regularly destroyed, often for tourist developments. Research Turtle More pictures of Turtle
Charles Robert Ashbee was an English architect and designer. He was born in 1863 and died in 1942. He was a leading advocate of the principles which inspired the Arts and Crafts Movement. As well as being the architect of some of the finest small houses of the time (good examples are in Cheyne Walk, London), Ashbee was also a designer of metalwork and jewellery, a poet, and essayist. In 1888 he founded the Guild of Handicraft, which moved from London to Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire in 1902, and in 1898 he founded the Essex House Press, one of the many private presses inspired by William Morris' Kelmscott Press. Ashbee published a pamphlet entitled 'Should We Stop Teaching Art?' in 1911 and in this he expressed a change in outlook that perhaps owed something to his meeting with FrankLloyd Wright in 1900. He abandoned his advocacy of the artist-craftsman, and argued that the machine is the vital instrument of contemporary civilization and that it is by the correct use of the machine that the ideals of the Arts and Crafts
Movement are to be promoted. Research Charles Ashbee
A Hmong is a member of a south east Asian highland people. They are predominantly hill farmers, rearing pigs and cultivating rice and grain, and many are involved in growing the opiumpoppy. Estimates of the size of the
Hmong population vary between 1.5 million and 5 million, the greatest number being in China. Although traditional beliefs remain important, many have adopted Christianity. Their language belongs to the Sino-Tibetan family. The Hmong wear distinctive costumes and elaborate silverjewellery. They are relatively recent arrivals on the south east Asian peninsula, many having moved south in order to avoid harassment by Chinese emperors. Today the
Hmong live in China (Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan), Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar. Research Hmong
Martin Cahill was an Irish gangster. He was born in 1950 at Dublin and died in 1994. Martin Cahill was known as 'The General' and was renowned as a clever, but vicious gangster who was responsible for a number of major robberies including the 1973 £90,000 Rathfranham Shopping Centre robbery and probably the 1983 £2 million Thomas O'Connor and Sons jewellery robbery. Martin Cahill was shot dead by the IRA in 1994 while driving his car, 'because of his involvement with, and assistance to pro-British death squads' the IRA claimed. Research Martin Cahill
Palladium is a rare grey-white metal element with the symbolPd. It has the power of absorbing a very large amount of hydrogen to which it is permeable when heated. It is used in an alloy with gold in dentistry and jewellery. In its pure form it is used for making watch springs and mirrors. Research Palladium
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Florentine Work
