Some museums all over the world include in their collections Chinese carved objects made with a variety of materials, from bamboo and ivory to soapstone. The highest esteem was actually afforded to works in bamboo, while ivory lacked particular associations and regarded as an easily worked material (soapstone was actually regarded more lowly than ivory).
These objects were characterized by minutely fine carvings, for this reason a fashion for them, and in particular for Chinese ivory carved objects, spread in Europe in the 1700s.
Around then carvings in ivory began to be highly-prized: carvers made brush ivory pots and perfume holders for scholars' desks, but they also produced figurines and ivory fans characterized by astounding openwork. These works were mainly produced for Europeans in Canton, the major centre of ivory carvings in China (the imperial workshops in Peking attracted the best carvers in the country – mostly from Canton – and in turn these workshops sent their own carvers to Canton because they had easier access to ivory there). Dignitaries also sent tribute gifts of ivory from Canton to the imperial court.
The Rijksmuseum includes in its collections an intricately carved puzzle ball containing successive equally elaborate balls, that was part of a group of four ivory carvings owned by Thomas Royer (bequeathed by his widow Jean Theodore Royer to King William I in 1814; transferred to the Royal Cabinet of Curiosities, The Hague in 1816, and then transferred to the museum in 1885). Among them there is an intricately carved puzzle ball containing eight smaller and successive, equally elaborate geometric openwork patterned balls, carved from one block of ivory (ca. 1770 – ca. 1780). The outer sphere has tendrils in relief. The inner balls with different geometric openwork patterns are visible through three round holes. At the top there is an eye with a chain with ivory links. The objects seem to have been invented primarily to show off the carver's dexterity and their astounding techniques.
Well-known and much-praised examples of the export objects of the 18th and 19th centuries, these puzzle balls were already being made much earlier specifically for Chinese enthusiasts, which meant that, in the case of this object, the boundaries between the domestic and the export market weren't always that clear.
The National Palace Museum in Taipei preserves for example a similar sphere (from the second half of the 19th century) with a longer and more elaborate chain and a tassel as well. The piece is currently on display in the "Garland of Treasures" section of the museum, dedicated to cherished crafts from the collections of the museum – from enamels to objects, carvings, curio boxes and lacquerware, and in a wide range of forms and materials. Most pieces on display here were ritual objects or accessories used for ceremonial purposes or diplomatic gifts or decorative pieces for a scholar's studio, that served as objects to be observed or appreciated at leisure.
The ivory sphere at the National Palace Museum of Taipei features several concentric layers with human figures in openwork relief on the external sphere. Several holes allow you to see the intricate openwork on the inner spheres. Immense skills must have gone into the making of this mesmerising object: the inner concentric elements are similar to the ones integrated in the sphere at the Rijksmuseum, but the external sphere seems even more elaborate (even though it also looks thicker, so it may have been easier to actually carve the sphere at Taipei's National Palace Museum).
Despite the beauty of these objects there's something we should note when taking into consideration these pieces: ivory collections belong to museums. While we celebrate the beauty and craftsmanship of these works, wildlife conservation and the protection of the environment should indeed be prioritized. In a nutshell, though beautiful, we should just admire these (already existing) antique ivory pieces in museums and make sure we do not buy new ivory objects if we visit a country where it is still possible to find crafts made with this material.
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