Hornbill ivory

Last updated
19th-century Japanese belt ornament in hornbill ivory, showing natural preen gland colouring Jugyoku - Crab - Walters 71851 - Top.jpg
19th-century Japanese belt ornament in hornbill ivory, showing natural preen gland colouring

Hornbill ivory (also called "golden jade" or calao ivoire in French [1] ) is a precious ornamental material derived from the helmeted hornbill (Buceros vigil), a large bird of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo.

Many hornbill species have "casques", decorative growths on the upper mandible of the bill. In most, the casque has a spongy structure, but in the helmeted hornbill it is solid keratin. This material, hornbill ivory, has a texture suggesting ivory but is softer. As it grows it is golden yellow, but the bird rubs its casque on its preen gland, whose oily secretion tints the surface of the casque bright red.

Native peoples in the helmeted hornbill's range, such as the Kenyah and Kelabit, have long carved the casques. In Malaysia, hornbill-ivory rings were said to change colour when near poisonous food. [2] The Chinese encountered the material in the 14th century and it soon became an important trade item at Brunei. According to Tom Harrisson, writing in the first (1960) edition of The Birds of Borneo:

It is likely that the casques were mainly exported raw, and worked with a heat treatment and pressing—of which no detailed description survives—in China, to preserve and heighten the lovely deep golden and surface red patina of the fresh ivory. The Chinese probably got the idea of using ho-ting from the Dayaks, then improved the technique at their end. The uses of hornbill casques in Borneo are various and frequently effective; we will discuss those presently. While the Borneo usages persist to this day, all trace of the art of the Chinese carver seems to have vanished. Very little has survived of a remarkable craft which undoubtedly paid for many of the old jars, plates, and beads still decorating the longhouses or wives of better-off Bornean pagans many generations later. [3]

During the Ming dynasty, the Chinese valued hornbill ivory above true ivory or jade. They carved the casques, or made them into sheets, coloured them with the secretion of the preen gland, and made them into belt buckles for high officials. They called hornbill ivory hèdǐng (Wade–Giles ho-ting), which is said to be their approximation of an indigenous name [2] (but means "crane head", and thus many Chinese thought the substance came from a crane rather than a hornbill). The Japanese also carved imported hornbill ivory into such objects as netsuke .

By the early 20th century, the helmeted hornbill became rare because it was slaughtered for its casque. Now legal trade in hornbill ivory is limited to certified antiques, and hornbill-ivory carvings are more valuable than those of any true ivory. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hornbill</span> Family of birds

Hornbills (Bucerotidae) are a family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly coloured and sometimes has a casque on the upper mandible. Both the common English and the scientific name of the family refer to the shape of the bill, "buceros" being "cow horn" in Greek. Hornbills have a two-lobed kidney. They are the only birds in which the first and second neck vertebrae are fused together; this probably provides a more stable platform for carrying the bill. The family is omnivorous, feeding on fruit and small animals. They are monogamous breeders nesting in natural cavities in trees and sometimes cliffs. A number of mainly insular species of hornbill with small ranges are threatened with extinction, namely in Southeast Asia.

<i>Netsuke</i> Type of bead used to secure an inro in ones belt

A netsuke is a miniature sculpture, originating in 17th century Japan. Initially a simply-carved button fastener on the cords of an inrō box, netsuke later developed into ornately sculpted objects of craftsmanship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bornean bristlehead</span> Species of bird

The Bornean bristlehead, also variously known as the bristled shrike, bald-headed crow or the bald-headed wood-shrike, is the only member of the passerine family Pityriasidae and genus Pityriasis. It is an enigmatic and uncommon species of the rainforest canopy of the island of Borneo, to which it is endemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walden's hornbill</span> Species of bird

Walden's hornbill locally called dulungan, also known as the Visayan wrinkled hornbill, rufous-headed hornbill or writhe-billed hornbill, is a critically endangered species of hornbill living in the rainforests on the islands of Negros and Panay in the Philippines. It is closely related to the writhed hornbill, but can be recognized by the yellow throat and ocular skin in the male, and the blue throat and ocular skin in the female. Its binomial name commemorates the Scottish ornithologist Viscount Walden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jurong Bird Park</span> Former zoo in Jurong, Singapore

Jurong Bird Park was formerly an aviary and tourist attraction in Jurong, Singapore between 1971 and 2023. The largest such bird park in Asia, it covers an area of 0.2 square kilometres on the western slope of Jurong Hill, the highest point in the Jurong region. It was one of the parks managed by Mandai Wildlife Reserve, which are also the managers of Singapore Zoo, Night Safari and River Wonders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhinoceros hornbill</span> Species of bird

The rhinoceros hornbill is a large species of forest hornbill (Bucerotidae). In captivity it can live for up to 35 years. It is found in lowland and montane, tropical and subtropical climates and in mountain rain forests up to 1,400 metres in Borneo, Sumatra, Java, the Malay Peninsula, Singapore, and southern Thailand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helmeted hornbill</span> Species of bird

The helmeted hornbill is a very large bird in the hornbill family. It is found on the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Thailand and Myanmar. The casque accounts for some 11% of its 3 kg weight. Unlike any other hornbill, the casque is almost solid, and is used in head-to-head combat among males. It is a belief among the Punan Bah that a large helmeted hornbill guards the river between life and death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great hornbill</span> Bird species

The great hornbill, also known as the concave-casqued hornbill, great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill, is one of the larger members of the hornbill family. It occurs in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is predominantly frugivorous, but also preys on small mammals, reptiles and birds. It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2018. It is known to have lived for nearly 50 years in captivity. Due to its large size and colour, it is important in many tribal cultures and rituals. The Government of Kerala declared it as the official Kerala state bird.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivory carving</span> Carving of animal tooth or tusk

Ivory carving is the carving of ivory, that is to say animal tooth or tusk, generally by using sharp cutting tools, either mechanically or manually. Objects carved in ivory are often called "ivories".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wreathed hornbill</span> Species of bird

The wreathed hornbill is an Old World tropical bird of the hornbill family Bucerotidae, also called bar-pouched wreathed hornbill due to its distinctive blue-black band on its lower throat sac. It is named after its characteristic long, curved bill that develops ridges, or wreaths, on the casque of the upper mandible in adults. Males are black with a rufous crown, a white upper breast and face, and a yellow featherless throat. Females are uniformly black with a blue throat and are slightly smaller than males.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uropygial gland</span> Gland

The uropygial gland, informally known as the preen gland or the oil gland, is a bilobed sebaceous gland possessed by the majority of birds used to distribute the gland's oil through the plumage by means of preening. It is located dorsally at the base of the tail and is greatly variable in both shape and size. In some species, the opening of the gland has a small tuft of feathers to provide a wick for the preen oil. It is a holocrine gland enclosed in a connective tissue capsule made up of glandular acini that deposit their oil secretion into a common collector tube ending in a variable number of pores (openings), most typically two. Each lobe has a central cavity that collects the secretion from tubules arranged radially around the cavity. The gland secretion is conveyed to the surface via ducts that, in most species, open at the top of a papilla.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batu Lawi Hill</span> Mountain in Malaysia

Batu Lawi is a twin-peaked mountain in the Kelabit Highlands of Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo) that has played important roles in both ancient mythology and modern history. The taller 'male' peak is 2046 metres above sea level, while the female summit is at 1850 metres. It is one of the highest mountains in the state of Sarawak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Species Survival Plan</span>

The American Species Survival Plan or SSP program was developed in 1981 by the (American) Association of Zoos and Aquariums to help ensure the survival of selected species in zoos and aquariums, most of which are threatened or endangered in the wild.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-and-white-casqued hornbill</span> Species of bird

The black-and-white-casqued hornbill also known as the grey-cheeked hornbill, is a large black and white hornbill. It has an oversized blackish bill with a large casque on top. The female is slightly smaller than the male and has a significantly smaller casque. It is a monogamous species, and pairs nest in suitable tree cavities. The female usually lays up to two eggs. The diet consists mainly of figs, fruits, insects and small animals found in the trees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown-cheeked hornbill</span> Species of bird

The brown-cheeked hornbill is a species of hornbill in the family Bucerotidae. It is found in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Its natural habitats are tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, plantations, and secondary growth forests. It is threatened by habitat destruction, as timber is harvested and the forests become increasingly fragmented.

Casque is a French word for helmet. It can refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese art by medium and technique</span>

Much traditional Chinese art was made for the imperial court, often to be then redistributed as gifts. As well as Chinese painting, sculpture and Chinese calligraphy, there are a great range of what may be called decorative or applied arts. Chinese fine art is distinguished from Chinese folk art, which differs in its style and purpose. This article gives an overview of the many different applied arts of China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malaysian art</span>

Traditional Malaysian art is primarily composed of Malay art and Bornean art, is very similar with the other styles from Southeast Asia, such as Bruneian, Indonesian and Singaporean. Art has a long tradition in Malaysia, with Malay art that dating back to the Malay sultanates, has always been influenced by Chinese, Indian and Islamic arts, and also present, due to large population of Chinese and Indian in today's Malaysian demographics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casque (anatomy)</span> Anatomical feature in birds

A casque is an anatomical feature found in some species of birds, reptiles, and amphibians. In birds, it is an enlargement of the bones of the upper mandible or the skull, either on the front of the face, or the top of the head, or both. The casque has been hypothesized to serve as a visual cue to a bird's sex, state of maturity, or social status; as reinforcement to the beak's structure; or as a resonance chamber, enhancing calls. In addition, they may be used in combat with other members of the same species, in the gathering of food, or in thermoregulation.

References

  1. Dietrich, R. V. "Horbill 'Ivory'". stoneplus.cst.cmich.edu. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2005-03-07. Retrieved 2005-07-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. Harrisson (1999).
  4. "gemofmonth.html". acstones.com. Archived from the original on 2005-09-24. Retrieved 2005-07-27.