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109-460: Ivories may refer to: Ivory carvings , objects made from ivory Piano keys , slang as keys were made from ivory until the 1950s Dice , slang as dice were made from ivory from ancient times into the 20th century Teeth , slang as teeth are composed of much of the same material as ivory Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

218-616: A smoking pipe carried in a container, and the netsuke , a toggle on a container, were often decorated with fine ivory carvings of animals and legendary creatures. With the start of modernization of Japan by the Meiji Restoration in the mid-1800s, the samurai class was abolished, and Japanese clothes began to be westernized, and many craftsmen lost their demand. Craftsmen who made Japanese swords and armor from metal and lacquer , and those who made netsuke and kiseru from ivory needed new demand. The new Meiji government promoted

327-528: A woolly rhinoceros from the Kolyma , and bison and horses from Yukagir have been found. Remote Wrangel Island and the Taymyr Peninsula are believed to have been the last places on Earth to support woolly mammoths as isolated populations until their extinction around 2000 BC. At least three species of humans lived in southern Siberia around 40,000 years ago: H. sapiens , H. neanderthalensis , and

436-531: A centre for the Russian style of carving, once in mammoth ivory but now mostly in bone. Scrimshaw , usually a form of engraving rather than carving, is a type of mostly naïve art practised by whalers and sailors on sperm whale teeth and other marine ivory, mainly in the 18th and 19th centuries. Ivory was used for the balls for table ball games such as billiards and snooker until the late 19th century, even as they became far more widely played. Other uses were for

545-569: A display of jewels. I am a receptacle for musk, camphor, and ambergris." India was a major centre for ivory carving since ancient times, as shown by the Begram ivories , a large ancient find of plaques and fittings for furniture found in Bagram , Afghanistan in a palace from the Kushan Empire , from the 1st or 2nd century BC. Most were probably carved in north India, though many other luxury objects from

654-501: A few other colours. A speciality was Chinese puzzle balls , consisting of openwork that contained a series of smaller balls, freely rotating, inside them, a tribute to the patience of Asian craftsmen. In Japan , ivory carving became popular around the Edo period in the 17th century. Kimono worn by people at that time had no pockets, and they carried small things by hanging containers called sagemono and inro from obi . The kiseru ,

763-525: A large business in the 19th century, with convicts used for much of the labour. The 25,000-year-old Venus of Brassempouy , arguably the earliest real likeness of a human face, was carved from mammoth ivory no doubt freshly killed. In northern Europe during the Early Middle Ages walrus ivory was more easily obtained from Viking traders, and later Norse settlements in Greenland than elephant ivory from

872-639: A large group of such objects recovered from a furniture storeroom at the Assyrian capital. They date to around the 9th to 6th centuries BC, and have a number of different origins from around the Assyrian Empire , with the Levant the most common. The so-called Pratt Ivories are another smaller group of furniture attachments from the early second millennium BC, from the Assyrian karum at Acemhöyük in Anatolia . Ivory

981-458: A material for carving may be termed "ivory", though the species is usually added, and a great number of different species with tusks or large teeth have been used. Teeth have three elements: the outer dental enamel , then the main body of dentine , and the inner root of osteo-dentine. For the purposes of carving, the last two are in most animals both usable, but the harder enamel may be too hard to carve, and require removal by grinding first. This

1090-513: A million years and some scientists consider it a possible cause of the " Great Dying " about 250 million years ago, – estimated to have killed 90% of species existing at the time. The region has paleontological significance, as it contains bodies of prehistoric animals from the Pleistocene Epoch , preserved in ice or permafrost . Specimens of Goldfuss cave lion cubs , Yuka the mammoth and another woolly mammoth from Oymyakon ,

1199-703: A prominent landmark for the Eastern spread of Islam under the Umayyad caliphate. The ivory caskets found on the Iberian Peninsula were likely constructed in the workshops of Madinat al-Zahra , a Umayyad palace in Cordoba. The containers were intricately carved, with motifs of hunting scenes, floral patterns, geometrical designs, and Kufic script. One of the most substantial buildings constructed during Umayyad presence in Spain

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1308-674: A region extending eastward from the Ural Mountains to the watershed between Pacific and Arctic drainage basins, and southward from the Arctic Ocean to the hills of north-central Kazakhstan and the national borders of both Mongolia and China. By this definition, Siberia includes the federal subjects of the Siberian Federal District , and some of the Ural Federal District , as well as Sakha (Yakutia) Republic , which

1417-407: Is a five legged arm chair, where three legs culminate into a tiger's claw while the remaining two culminate into an open mouthed tiger's head. The table as well as chair have a perforated floral motif (jaali work) with traces of gold plating. This table and chair were presented to the museum by Maharaja of Darbhanga . The carvers of Murshidabad called the solid end of the elephant tusk as Nakshidant ,

1526-493: Is a part of the Far Eastern Federal District . Geographically, this definition includes subdivisions of several other subjects of Urals and Far Eastern federal districts, but they are not included administratively. This definition excludes Sverdlovsk Oblast and Chelyabinsk Oblast , both of which are included in some wider definitions of Siberia. Other sources may use either a somewhat wider definition that states

1635-424: Is about 0.5 °C (32.9 °F). January averages about −20 °C (−4 °F) and July about +19 °C (66 °F), while daytime temperatures in summer typically exceed 20 °C (68 °F). With a reliable growing season, an abundance of sunshine and exceedingly fertile chernozem soils, southern Siberia is good enough for profitable agriculture , as was demonstrated in the early 20th century. By far

1744-466: Is an example of a small group of very similar boxes, probably presented by a future bridegroom to his future wife, that brings together a number of scenes drawn from medieval romance literature . The supply of African ivory contracted greatly in the later 14th century; one result was a rise in bone carving for "marriage caskets", mirror, and religious pieces. The north Italian Embriachi workshop led this trend, supplying bone carvings even to princes and

1853-583: Is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia , from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states since the centuries-long conquest of Siberia , which began with the fall of the Khanate of Sibir in the late 16th century and concluded with the annexation of Chukotka in 1778. Siberia

1962-631: Is culturally and politically considered European, since it is a part of Russia. Major geographical zones within Siberia include the West Siberian Plain and the Central Siberian Plateau . Eastern and central Sakha comprises numerous north–south mountain ranges of various ages. These mountains extend up to almost 3,000 metres (9,800 ft), but above a few hundred metres they are almost completely devoid of vegetation. The Verkhoyansk Range

2071-560: Is derived from a Mongolic word sibir , cognate with modern Buryat sheber 'dense forest'. Siberia in Paleozoic times formed the continent of Siberia/Angaraland , which fused to Euramerica during the Late Carboniferous , as part of the formation of Pangea . The Siberian Traps were formed by one of the largest-known volcanic events of the last 251 million years of Earth's geological history . Their activity continued for

2180-520: Is doubtful that the total early modern Siberian population exceeded 300,000 persons". The first mention of Siberia in chronicles is recorded in the year 1032. The city-state of Novgorod established two trade routes to the Ob River , and laid claim to the lands the Russians called Yugra . The Russians were attracted by its furs in particular. Novgorod launched military campaigns to extract tribute from

2289-425: Is high also in most of Primorye in the extreme south, where monsoonal influences can produce quite heavy summer rainfall. Researchers, including Sergei Kirpotin at Tomsk State University and Judith Marquand at Oxford University , warn that Western Siberia has begun to thaw as a result of global warming . The frozen peat bogs in this region may hold billions of tons of methane gas , which may be released into

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2398-650: Is no longer visible. The Central Siberian Plateau is an ancient craton (sometimes named Angaraland ) that formed an independent continent before the Permian (see the Siberian continent ). It is exceptionally rich in minerals, containing large deposits of gold , diamonds , and ores of manganese , lead , zinc , nickel , cobalt , and molybdenum . Much of the area includes the Siberian Traps —a large igneous province . A massive eruptive period approximately coincided with

2507-513: Is not ivory, had a special auspicious position. But ivory, as well as bone, has been used for various items since early times, when China still had its own species of elephant — demand for ivory seems to have played a large part in their extinction, which came before 100 BC. From the Ming dynasty ivory began to be used for small statuettes of the gods and others (see gallery). In the Qing dynasty it suited

2616-524: Is observed in some cases. Another prominent typology discovered is of grooming objects and the most common examples in this category are combs and hairpins. Typical example of ivory combs from the earlier period is from Kushan dynasty, discovered in Taxila , present day Pakistan. The comb consisted of fine teeths with intermittent coarse teeth on one side and a flat edge on the other side engraved with animal and human figurines. Later, from 17th century onwards it

2725-467: Is observed that both ends of the combs are lined with fine teeths with ornate central area consisting of female figurines and animals in bas-relief in colours. Apart from the small objects, ivory carvings was also used in furniture, containers, building elements and carved boats mounted on display stands. One of the exquisite example of ivory carved chair can be seen in Salar Jung Museum, this chair

2834-595: Is several degrees warmer than in the East ( Irkutsk , or Chita ) where in the north an extreme winter subarctic climate (Köppen Dfd , Dwd , or Dsd ) prevails. But summer temperatures in other regions can reach +38 °C (100 °F). In general, Sakha is the coldest Siberian region, and the basin of the Yana has the lowest temperatures of all, with permafrost reaching 1,493 metres (4,898 ft). Nevertheless, Imperial Russian plans of settlement never viewed cold as an impediment. In

2943-491: Is similar to the religious triptychs but its central panel shows Christ crowning Emperor Romanos and Empress Eudokia. There are different theories about which Byzantine ruler was made for the triptych. One possible solution is Romanos II that gives the date of production between 944 and 949. It seems that ivory carving declined or largely disappeared in Byzantium after the 12th century. Western Europe also made polytychs, which by

3052-464: Is the active volcano Klyuchevskaya Sopka , on the Kamchatka Peninsula . Its peak reaches 4,750 metres (15,580 ft). The West Siberian Plain, consisting mostly of Cenozoic alluvial deposits, is somewhat flat. In the mid-Pleistocene, many deposits on this plain resulted from ice dams which produced a large glacial lake . This mid- to late- Pleistocene lake blocked the northward flow of

3161-423: Is the case with hippopotamus for example, whose tooth enamel (on the largest teeth) is about as hard as jade . Elephant ivory, as well as coming in the largest pieces, is relatively soft and even, and an ideal material for carving. The species of animal from which ivory comes can usually be determined by examination under ultra-violet light, where different types show different colours. Eurasian elephant ivory

3270-614: Is the city of Novosibirsk . Present-day Novosibirsk is an important business, science, manufacturing and cultural center of the Asian part of Russia. Omsk played an important role in the Russian Civil War serving as a provisional Russian capital, as well in the expansion into and governing of Central Asia . In addition to its cultural status, it has become a major oil-refining, education, transport and agriculture hub. Other historic cities of Siberia include Tobolsk (the first capital and

3379-431: Is vast and sparsely populated, covering an area of over 13.1 million square kilometres (5,100,000 sq mi), but home to roughly a quarter of Russia's population. Novosibirsk , Krasnoyarsk , and Omsk are the largest cities in the area. Because Siberia is a geographic and historic concept and not a political entity, there is no single precise definition of its territorial borders. Traditionally, Siberia spans

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3488-609: The Ainu people ). Evidence from full genomic studies suggests that the first people in the Americas diverged from Ancient East Asians about 36,000 years ago and expanded northwards into Siberia, where they encountered and interacted with Ancient North Eurasians, giving rise to both Paleosiberian peoples and Ancient Native Americans , which later migrated towards the Beringian region, became isolated from other populations, and subsequently populated

3597-740: The Denisovans . In 2010, DNA evidence identified the last as a separate species. Late Paleolithic southern Siberians appear to be related to Paleolithic Europeans and the paleolithic Jōmon people of Japan. Ancient DNA analysis has revealed that the oldest fossil known to carry the derived KITLG allele, which is responsible for blond hair in modern Europeans, is a 17,000 year old Ancient North Eurasian specimen from Siberia. Ancient North Eurasian populations genetically similar to Mal'ta–Buret' culture and Afontova Gora were an important genetic contributor to Native Americans, Europeans, Ancient Central Asians, South Asians, and some East Asian groups (such as

3706-717: The Iconoclastic period were triptychs. Among the most remarkable examples is the Harbaville Triptych from the 10th century with many figurative panels. Such Byzantine triptychs could only have been used for private devotion because of their relatively small size. Another famous 10th century ivory triptych is the Borradaile Triptych in the British Museum , with only one central image (the Crucifixion). The Romanos Ivory

3815-645: The Late Carboniferous through Jurassic Verkhoyansk foldbelt , on the northwest by the Paleozoic Taymr foldbelt, and on the southeast, south and southwest by the Middle Silurian to Middle Devonian Baykalian foldbelt. A regional geologic reconnaissance study begun in 1932 and followed by surface and subsurface mapping revealed the Markova-Angara Arch ( anticline ). This led to the discovery of

3924-614: The Ob and Yenisey rivers, resulting in a redirection southwest into the Caspian and Aral seas via the Turgai Valley . The area is very swampy, and soils are mostly peaty histosols and, in the treeless northern part, histels . In the south of the plain, where permafrost is largely absent, rich grasslands that are an extension of the Kazakh Steppe formed the original vegetation, most of which

4033-563: The Permian–Triassic extinction event . The volcanic event is one of the largest known volcanic eruptions in Earth's history . Only the extreme northwest was glaciated during the Quaternary , but almost all is under exceptionally deep permafrost, and the only tree that can thrive, despite the warm summers, is the deciduous Siberian Larch ( Larix sibirica ) with its very shallow roots. Outside

4142-610: The Siberian sub-ethnic group), and Eastern Slavic cultural influences predominate throughout the region. Nevertheless, there exist sizable ethnic minorities of Asian lineage, including various Turkic communities—many of which, such as the Yakuts , Tuvans , Altai , and Khakas , are Indigenous —along with the Mongolic Buryats , ethnic Koreans , and smaller groups of Samoyedic and Tungusic peoples (several of whom are classified as Indigenous small-numbered peoples by

4251-650: The Siberian Tatar word for 'sleeping land' ( Sib-ir ). A different hypothesis claims that the region was named after the Sibe people . The Polish historian Jan Chyliczkowski has proposed that the name derives from the Proto-Slavic word for 'north' (cf. Russian север sever ), as in Severia . Anatole Baikaloff has dismissed this explanation. He said that the neighboring Chinese, Turks, and Mongolians, who have similar names for

4360-670: The Soviet Union (especially in the 1930s and 1940s), the government used the Gulag state agency to administer a system of penal labour camps , replacing the previous katorga system. According to semi-official Soviet estimates, which did not become public until after the fall of the Soviet government in 1991, from 1929 to 1953 more than 14 million people passed through these camps and prisons, many of them in Siberia. Another seven to eight million people were internally deported to remote areas of

4469-562: The Treasure of Begram came from the Greco-Roman world. The ivory Pompeii Lakshmi , carved in India, was found in the ruins of Pompeii after its destruction in 79 AD. Ivory carving has been prevalent throughout India. Some of the prominent regions where this craft progressed over the years are Murshidabad , Travancore-Cochin , Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha. Travancore was considered one of

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4578-520: The Twenty-Sixth Dynasty (664 BC–525 BC). The MacGregor plaque is more securely dated to around 2985 BC, and may have decorated a royal sandal. Thin ivory plaques were widely used throughout the ancient world as inlays to decorate palace furniture, musical instruments, gaming boards and other luxurious objects. The Tomb of Tutankhamun (1330s BC) contains many such ivory elements, the largest perhaps his carved headrest. The Nimrud ivories are

4687-464: The medieval art of Europe because of this, and in particular for Byzantine art as so little monumental sculpture was produced or has survived. As the elephant and other ivory-producing species have become endangered , largely because of hunting for ivory, CITES and national legislation in most countries have reduced the modern production of carved ivory. Ivory is by no means exclusively obtained from elephants ; any animal tooth or tusk used as

4796-437: The 13th century, and the most important centre of carving became Paris, which had a virtually industrial production and exported all over Europe. Secular pieces, or religious ones for lay-people, gradually took over from production for the clergy. Mirror-cases, gaming pieces, boxes and combs were among typical products, as well as small personal religious diptychs and triptychs. The Casket with Scenes of Romances (Walters 71264)

4905-399: The 19th-century opening-up of the interior of Africa, it was usually a rare and expensive material used for small luxury products. Very fine detail can be achieved, and as the material, unlike precious metals, has no bullion value and usually cannot easily be recycled, the survival rate for ivory pieces is much higher than for those in other materials. Ivory carving has a special importance to

5014-805: The Americas. During past millennia, different groups of nomads – such as the Enets , the Nenets , the Huns , the Xiongnu , the Scythians , and the Yugur – inhabited various parts of Siberia. The Afanasievo and Tashtyk cultures of the Yenisey valley and Altay Mountains are associated with the Indo-European migrations across Eurasia. The proto-Mongol Khitan people also occupied parts of

5123-595: The Early Middle Ages – the Franks Casket in bone is an Anglo-Saxon version from the 8th century, and the Veroli Casket a Byzantine one from about 1000. Both include mythological scenes, respectively Germanic and classical, that are found in few other works from these periods. The most important Late Antique work of art made of ivory is the Throne of Maximianus . The cathedra of Maximianus , bishop of Ravenna (546–556),

5232-626: The Gothic period typically had side panels with tiers of relief narrative scenes, rather than the rows of saints favoured in Byzantine works. These were usually of the Life of the Virgin or Life of Christ . If it was a triptych the main panel usually still featured a hieratic scene on a larger scale but diptychs just with narrative scenes were common. Western art did not share Byzantine inhibitions about sculpture in

5341-701: The Imperial Family are housed in the Museum of the Imperial Collections . Ivory from Africa was widely sought after outside the continent by the 14th century due in part to the poorer quality of Asian ivory. While Asian ivory is brittle, more difficult to polish, and tends to yellow with exposure to air, African ivory often comes in larger pieces, a more sought after cream colour, and is easier to carve. Ivory from Africa came from one of two types of elephant in Africa;

5450-626: The Markovo Oil Field in 1962 with the Markovo—1 well, which produced from the Early Cambrian Osa Horizon bar - sandstone at a depth of 2,156 metres (7,073 ft). The Sredne-Botuobin Gas Field was discovered in 1970, producing from the Osa and the Proterozoic Parfenovo Horizon. The Yaraktin Oil Field was discovered in 1971, producing from the Vendian Yaraktin Horizon at depths of up to 1,750 metres (5,740 ft), which lies below Permian to Lower Jurassic basalt traps . The climate of Siberia varies dramatically, but it typically has warm but short summers and long, brutally cold winters. On

5559-534: The North-East Camps ) along the Kolyma and Norillag near Norilsk , where 69,000 prisoners lived in 1952. Major industrial cities of Northern Siberia, such as Norilsk and Magadan , developed from camps built by prisoners and run by former prisoners. Siberia spans an area of 13.1 million square kilometres (5,100,000 sq mi), covering the vast majority of Russia's total territory, and almost 9% of Earth's land surface (148,940,000 km , 57,510,000 sq mi). It geographically falls in Asia, but

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5668-423: The Pacific coast, not the watershed, is the eastern boundary (thus including the whole Russian Far East), as well as all Northern Kazakhstan is its subregion in the south-west or a somewhat narrower one that limits Siberia to the Siberian Federal District (thus excluding all subjects of other districts). In Russian, 'Siberia' is commonly used as a substitute for the name of the federal district by those who live in

5777-444: The Russian Far East, and even Petropavlovsk in Kazakhstan and Harbin in China. Novosibirsk is the largest by population and the most important city for the Siberian economy; with an extra boost since 2000 when it was designated a regional center for the executive bureaucracy ( Siberian Federal District ). Omsk is a historic and currently the second largest city in the region, and since 1950s hosting Russia's largest oil refinery,

5886-453: The Russian government), among many others. The origin of the name is uncertain. The Russian name Yugra was applied to the northern lands east of the Urals , which had been known of since the 11th century or earlier, while the name Siberia is first mentioned in Russian chronicles at the start of the 15th century in connection with the death of the khan Tokhtamysh , in "the Siberian land". Some sources say that "Siberia" originates from

5995-400: The Siberian Khanate in the 16th century. First, groups of traders and Cossacks began to enter the area. The Russian army was directed to establish forts farther and farther east to protect new Russian settlers who migrated from Europe. Towns such as Mangazeya , Tara , Yeniseysk , and Tobolsk developed, the last becoming the de facto capital of Siberia from 1590. At this time, Sibir was

6104-462: The Soviet Union (including entire nationalities or ethnicities in several cases). Half a million (516,841) prisoners died in camps from 1941 to 1943 during World War II . At other periods, mortality was comparatively lower. The size, scope, and scale of the Gulag slave-labour camps remain subjects of much research and debate. Many Gulag camps operated in extremely remote areas of northeastern Siberia. The best-known clusters included Sevvostlag (

6213-584: The U.S. Interior Department's Fish and Wildlife Service announced a ban on the trade in elephant ivory within the United States by prohibiting all imports and—with narrow exceptions—exports and resales by auction houses and other dealers. On November 16, 2017, it was announced that US President Donald Trump had lifted a ban on ivory imports from Zimbabwe implemented by Barack Obama . Siberia Siberia ( / s aɪ ˈ b ɪər i ə / sy- BEER -ee-ə ; Russian : Сибирь , romanized :  Sibir' , IPA: [sʲɪˈbʲirʲ] )

6322-499: The ages. Historically, Siberia was defined as the whole part of Russia and North Kazakhstan to the east of Ural Mountains , including the Russian Far East . According to this definition, Siberia extended eastward from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific coast, and southward from the Arctic Ocean to the border of Central Asia and the national borders of both Mongolia and China. Soviet-era sources ( Great Soviet Encyclopedia and others) and modern Russian ones usually define Siberia as

6431-407: The area between the Laptev Sea and East Siberian Sea . Since 1988, experimentation at Pleistocene Park has proposed to restore the grasslands of prehistoric times by conducting research on the effects of large herbivores on permafrost, suggesting that animals, rather than climate, maintained the past ecosystem. The nature reserve park also conducts climatic research on the changes expected from

6540-413: The atmosphere. Methane is a greenhouse gas 22 times more powerful than carbon dioxide . In 2008 a research expedition for the American Geophysical Union detected levels of methane up to 100 times above normal in the atmosphere above the Siberian Arctic , likely the result of methane clathrates being released through holes in a frozen "lid" of seabed permafrost around the outfall of the Lena and

6649-414: The caliphate at that time. Pyxis of al-Mughira depicts these themes, utilizing symbolic imagery of lions, hunting, and abundant vegetal ornaments. This pyxis is heavily detailed and completely covered in decoration. Like the bands of text along the top of the container, the imagery is meant to be perceived from right to left, containing various scenes that complete a unified display. The use of symbolism

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6758-436: The chair incorporated Indian and European motives along with Conch-shell emblem of Travancore. Presently, the throne is displayed at Garter Throne Room, Windsor Castle , Berkshire, United Kingdom. Murshidabad in the state of West Bengal , India was a famed centre for ivory carving. A set of ivory table and chairs, displayed at Victoria Memorial , Kolkata is an exquisite example of carving done by Murshidabad carvers. This

6867-458: The coldest inhabited point in the Northern hemisphere. Each town also frequently reaches 30 °C (86 °F) in the summer, giving them, and much of the rest of Russian Siberia, the world's greatest temperature variation between summer's highs and winter's lows, often well over 94–100+ °C (169–180+ °F) between the seasons. Southwesterly winds bring warm air from Central Asia and the Middle East. The climate in West Siberia (Omsk, or Novosibirsk)

6976-472: The container, the owner, and the contents. The delicate character of the ivory was utilized to create a relationship between the object and the woman it was created for. Many containers also included poetic phrases that activated the object, calling attention to its visual characteristics. In the Pyxis of Zamora , the inscription reads, "The sight I offer is of the fairest, the firm breast of a delicate maiden. Beauty has invested me with splendid raiment that makes

7085-412: The court of the Kingdom of Benin , including ivory masks that may be portraits, and objects in a quasi-European taste for export via the Portuguese. Examples include a set of saltcellars with Portuguese Figures . The simpler Sapi-Portuguese Ivory Spoon came from further along the coast. The trading of ivory has become heavily restricted over recent decades, especially in the Western world, following

7194-415: The definition of the territory of Siberia a potentially controversial subject. In the eastern extent of Siberia there are territories which are not clearly defined as either Siberia or the Far East , making the question of "what is Siberia?" one with no clear answer, and what is a "Siberian", one of self-identification . The most populous city of Siberia, as well as the third most populous city of Russia,

7303-436: The design, but usually only scant traces survive of their surface colouring; many were scrubbed by 19th century dealers. A fair number of Gothic ivories survive with original colour in good condition however. The survival rate for ivory panels has always been relatively high compared to equivalent luxury media like precious metal because a thin ivory panel cannot be re-used, although some have been turned over and carved again on

7412-403: The district itself, but less commonly used to denote the federal district by people residing outside of it. Due to the different interpretations of Siberia, starting from Tyumen , to Chita , the territory generally defined as 'Siberia', some people will define themselves as 'Siberian', while others not. A number of factors in recent years, including the fomenting of Siberian separatism have made

7521-414: The entire expanse of land from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean , with the Ural River usually forming the southernmost portion of its western boundary, and includes most of the drainage basin of the Arctic Ocean . It is further defined as stretching from the territories within the Arctic Circle in the north to the northern borders of Kazakhstan , Mongolia , and China in the south, although

7630-430: The exhibition and export of arts and crafts to the World's fair in order to give works to craftsmen and earn foreign currency, and the Imperial family cooperated to promote arts and crafts by purchasing excellent works. Japanese ivory carvings were praised overseas for their exquisite workmanship, and in Japan, Ishikawa Komei and Asahi Gyokuzan gained a particularly high reputation, and their masterpieces presented to

7739-413: The extreme northwest, the taiga is dominant, covering a significant fraction of the entirety of Siberia. Soils here are mainly turbels , giving way to spodosols where the active layer becomes thicker and the ice-content lower. The Lena-Tunguska petroleum province includes the Central Siberian platform (some authors refer to it as the "Eastern Siberian platform"), bounded on the northeast and east by

7848-684: The extremely wealthy; when they used ivory it was usually hippopotamus teeth. Though the supply improved from the 16th century, ivory was never so important after the end of the Middle Ages, but continued to be used for plaques, small figures, especially the "corpus" or body on a crucifix , fans, elaborate handles for cutlery, and a great range of other objects. Dieppe in France became an important centre, specializing in ornate openwork and model ships, and Erbach in Germany. Kholmogory has been for centuries

7957-442: The growing taste for intricate carving, and became more prominent, being used for brush-holders, boxes, handles and similar pieces, and later Canton developed large models of houses and other large and showy pieces, which remain popular. Enormous examples are still seen as decorative centrepieces at government receptions. Figures were typically uncoloured, or just with certain features coloured in ink, often just black, but sometimes

8066-452: The hills of north-central Kazakhstan are also commonly included. The Russian government divides the region into three federal districts (groupings of Russian federal subjects ), of which only the central one is officially referred to as " Siberian "; the other two are the Ural and Far Eastern federal districts, named for the Ural and Russian Far East regions that correspond respectively to

8175-903: The huge Athena Parthenos , the statue of the Greek goddess Athena made by Phidias and the focus of the interior of the Parthenon in Athens . Ivory will survive very well if dry and not hot, but in most climates does not often long survive in the ground, so that our knowledge of Ancient Greek ivory is restricted, whereas a reasonable number of Late Roman pieces, mostly plaques from diptychs , have survived above ground, typically ending up in church treasuries. No doubt versions of figurines and other types of object that survive in ancient Roman pottery and other media were also made in ivory, but survivals are very rare. A few Roman caskets with ivory plaques with relief carvings have survived, and such objects were copied in

8284-618: The international CITES agreement and local legislation. The trade of ivory—which in the United States is often based on its age—is controversial, and laws related to it may vary by state. In January 1990 CITES enacted the ban on the international trade of ivory. To undermine the market and demonstrate its opposition to the trade of ivory, the Obama administration orchestrated the destruction of six tons of ivory in November 2013. In February 2014,

8393-510: The ivory trades of both India and Africa, so Islamic use of the material is noticeably more generous than European, with many fairly large caskets , round boxes that use a full section of tusk (left), and other pieces. Openwork , where a panel of ivory is cut right through for parts of the design is very common, as it is in Islamic woodwork. Like many aspects of Islamic ivory this reflects the Byzantine traditions Islam inherited. Islamic aniconism

8502-474: The local population, but often met resistance, such as two campaigns in 1187 and 1193 mentioned in chronicles that were defeated. After Novgorod was annexed by Moscow , the newly emerging centralized Russian state also laid claim to the region, with Ivan III of Russia sending expeditionary forces to Siberia in 1483 and 1499–1500. The Russians received tribute, but contact with the tribes ceased after they left. The growing power of Russia began to undermine

8611-598: The mid-17th century, Russia had established areas of control that extended to the Pacific Ocean. Some 230,000 Russians had settled in Siberia by 1709. Siberia became one of the destinations for sending internal exiles . Exile was the main Russian punitive practice with more than 800,000 people exiled during the nineteenth century. The first great modern change in Siberia was the Trans-Siberian Railway , constructed during 1891–1916. It linked Siberia more closely to

8720-473: The middle portion as Khondidant and the thick hollow end as Galhardant . They preferred using the solid end of the elephant tusk for their work. Sri Lankan ivories were also a noted tradition. Ivory carving in India can be categorised in both non-decorative and decorative objects. The unadorned objects are specifically from earlier Indian history and consists of domestic objects such hooks, needles, pins and gaming pieces, partial rudimentary ornamentation

8829-451: The more desirable bush elephant with larger and heavier tusks or the forest elephant with smaller and straighter tusks. Ivory tusks as well as ivory objects such as carved masks , salt cellars , oliphants and other emblems of importance have been traded and used as gifts and religious ceremonies for hundreds of years in Africa. Kongo ivories were one West African type, and the art of Benin produced many large pieces, some for use in

8938-553: The most commonly occurring climate in Siberia is continental subarctic (Koppen Dfc , Dwc , or Dsc ), with the annual average temperature about −5 °C (23 °F) and an average for January of −25 °C (−13 °F) and an average for July of +17 °C (63 °F), although this varies considerably, with a July average about 10 °C (50 °F) in the taiga–tundra ecotone . The business -oriented website and blog Business Insider lists Verkhoyansk and Oymyakon , in Siberia's Sakha Republic , as being in competition for

9047-484: The name of a fortress at Qashliq , near Tobolsk. Gerardus Mercator , in a map published in 1595, marks Sibier both as the name of a settlement and of the surrounding territory along a left tributary of the Ob . Other sources contend that the Sibe , an Indigenous Tungusic people , offered fierce resistance to Russian expansion beyond the Urals. Some suggest that the term "Siberia" is a russification of their ethnonym. By

9156-455: The north coast, north of the Arctic Circle , there is a very short (about one month long) summer. Almost all the population lives in the south, along the route of the Trans-Siberian Railway . The climate in this southernmost part is humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa/Dfb or Dwa/Dwb ) with cold winters but fairly warm summers lasting at least four months. The annual average temperature

9265-457: The only kremlin in Siberia), Tomsk (formerly a wealthy merchant's town) and Irkutsk (former seat of Eastern Siberia's governor general, near lake Baikal). Other major cities include: Barnaul , Kemerovo , Krasnoyarsk , Novokuznetsk , Tyumen . Wider definitions of geographic Siberia also include the cities of: Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg in the Urals, Khabarovsk and Vladivostok in

9374-466: The outsides joined by hinges with the image of the consul. The form was later adopted for Christian use, with images of Christ, the Theotokos and saints. They were used by an individual for prayer. Such ivory panels were used as book-covers from the 6th century, usually as the centrepiece to a surround of metalwork and gems. sometimes assembled from up to five smaller panels because of the limited width of

9483-400: The prime centres of ivory carving in India. Most distinguished specimens of ivory carving from Travancore are the palquines thrones designed for the royal family. In 1851 a throne and a footstool carved under the patronage of Uthram Thirunal Marthanda Varma was presented for Great London Exhibition in 1851. Both the articles were heavily carved and embedded with precious gemstones. Design of

9592-465: The rapidly industrialising Russia of Nicholas II ( r.  1894–1917 ). Around seven million Russians moved to Siberia from Europe between 1801 and 1914. Between 1859 and 1917, more than half a million people migrated to the Russian Far East. Siberia has extensive natural resources: during the 20th century, large-scale exploitation of these took place, and industrial towns cropped up throughout

9701-461: The region, would not have known Russian. He suggested that the name might be a combination of two words with Turkic origin, su 'water' and bir 'wild land'. Another account sees the name as the ancient tribal ethnonym of the Sihirtia or Sirtya (also Syopyr [sʲɵpᵻr])), a hypothetical Paleo-Asiatic ethnic group assimilated by the Nenets . Mongolist György Kara posits that the toponym Siberia

9810-539: The region. At 7:15 a.m. on 30 June 1908, the Tunguska Event felled millions of trees near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River (Stony Tunguska River) in central Siberia. Most scientists believe this resulted from the air burst of a meteor or a comet. Even though no crater has ever been found, the landscape in the (sparsely inhabited) area still bears the scars of this event. In the early decades of

9919-723: The region. In the 13th century, during the period of the Mongol Empire , the Mongols conquered a large part of this area. With the breakup of the Golden Horde , the autonomous Khanate of Sibir was formed in the late-15th century. Turkic-speaking Yakut migrated north from the Lake Baikal region under pressure from the Mongol tribes from the 13th to 15th centuries. Siberia remained a sparsely populated area. Historian John F. Richards wrote: "it

10028-551: The reintroduction of grazing animals or large herbivores, hypothesizing that a transition from tundra to grassland would lead to a net change in energy emission to absorption ratios. According to Vasily Kryuchkov, approximately 31,000 square kilometers of the Russian Arctic has subjected to severe environmental disturbance. The term "Siberia" has both a long history and wide significance, and association. The understanding, and association of "Siberia" have gradually changed during

10137-657: The reverse. The majority of book-cover plaques are now detached from their original books and metalwork surrounds, very often because the latter has been stripped off for breaking up at some point. Equally they are more robust than small paintings. Ivory works have always been valued, and because of their survival rate and portability were very important in the transmission of artistic style, especially in Carolingian art , which copied and varied many Late Antique ivories. African elephant ivory became increasingly available in Europe from

10246-550: The round: reliefs became increasing high and small statues were common, representing much of the best work. Chess and gaming pieces were often large and elaborately carved; the Lewis Chessmen are among the best known. Olifants were horns made from the end of an elephant's tusk, usually carved over at least part of their surface. They were perhaps more for display than use in hunting. Most medieval ivories were gilded and coloured, sometimes all over and sometimes just in parts of

10355-628: The south; at this time walrus were probably found much further south than they are today. Sperm whale teeth are another source, and bone carving has been used in many cultures without access to ivory, and as a far cheaper alternative; in the Middle Ages whalebone was often used, either from the Basque whaling industry or natural strandings. The Khufu Statuette may come from the Fourth Dynasty ( Old Kingdom , c. 2613 to 2494 BC), when its subject lived, or it may have been carved much later, in

10464-524: The title Ivories . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ivories&oldid=530300005 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Ivory carvings Humans have ornamentally carved ivory since prehistoric times, though until

10573-469: The title of the Northern Hemisphere's Pole of Cold . Oymyakon is a village which recorded a temperature of −67.7 °C (−89.9 °F) on 6 February 1933. Verkhoyansk , a town further north and further inland, recorded a temperature of −69.8 °C (−93.6 °F) for three consecutive nights: 5, 6 and 7 February 1933. Each town is alternately considered the Northern Hemisphere's Pole of Cold –

10682-457: The tusk. This assembly suggested a compositional arrangement with Christ or Mary in the centre and angels, apostles and saints in the flanking panels. Carved ivory covers were used for treasure bindings on the most precious illuminated manuscripts . Very few of the jewelled metalwork surrounds for treasure bindings have survived intact, but reasonably high numbers of ivory plaques once used in bindings survive. Typical Byzantine ivory works after

10791-472: The western and eastern thirds of Siberia in the broader sense. Siberia is known for its long, harsh winters, with a January average of −25 °C (−13 °F). Although it is geographically in Asia, Russian sovereignty and colonization since the 16th century has led to perceptions of the region as culturally and ethnically European. Over 85% of its population are of European descent , chiefly Russian (comprising

10900-484: The white keys of keyboard instruments and the handles of cutlery , sometimes elaborately carved. Ivory is a very suitable material for the intricate geometrical patterns of Islamic art , and has been much used for boxes, inlays in wood and other purposes. From 750 to 1258 A.D (year of the siege and destruction of Baghdad by the mongols ), the Islamic world was more prosperous than the West and had more direct access to

11009-559: The winter, southern Siberia sits near the center of the semi-permanent Siberian High , so winds are usually light in the winter. Precipitation in Siberia is generally low, exceeding 500 millimetres (20 in) only in Kamchatka , where moist winds flow from the Sea of Okhotsk onto high mountains – producing the region's only major glaciers , though volcanic eruptions and low summer temperatures allow only limited forests to grow. Precipitation

11118-399: Was Madinat al-Zahra, a palace-suburb in the city of Cordoba. The palace was the center of administrative and political rule. Like other Islamic buildings of the 10th century, the art and architecture surrounding the palace reflected the insertion of Islam into society. Objects produced in courtly settings were made for elite political and religious figures, often proclaiming the endurance of

11227-472: Was covered entirely with ivory panels. It was probably carved in Constantinople and shipped to Ravenna. It consists of decorative floral panels framing various figured panels, including one with the complex monogram of the bishop. Late Roman Consular diptychs were given as presents by the consuls , civil officers who played an important administrative role until 541, and consisted of two panels carved on

11336-480: Was extensively glaciated in the Pleistocene, but the climate was too dry for glaciation to extend to low elevations. At these low elevations are numerous valleys, many of them deep and covered with larch forest, except in the extreme north where the tundra dominates. Soils are mainly turbels (a type of gelisol ). The active layer tends to be less than one metre deep, except near rivers. The highest point in Siberia

11445-558: Was gifted to Tipu Sultan by King Louis XVI and later acquired by Salar Jung III in 1949. Significant examples of use of ivory in building elements can be seen in the Darshani Door at Sri Harmandir Sahib at Amritsar and the entrance door at the Mausoleum of Tipu Sultan . Ivory was not a prestigious material in the rather strict hierarchy of Chinese art , where jade has always been far more highly regarded, and rhinoceros horn , which

11554-492: Was often less strictly enforced in small decorative works, and many Islamic ivories have delightful figures of animals, and human figures, especially hunters. Ivory held significance during the Umayyad caliphate in Cordoba, Spain . The Umayyads were one of the first Islamic dynasties to promote Islam through art, architecture, and political authority. Although primarily present in the Arabian peninsula , Cordoba, Spain, served as

11663-560: Was successful in these works because instead of celebrating one specific caliph, the figures and animals are reminiscent of the prevalence of Islam as a whole.   Lions were a common symbol of success, power, and monarchy. Additionally, vegetal and floral imagery displayed abundance, and in the context of many ivory carvings, fertility and femininity. Women of the court were often the recipients of these ivory containers, for weddings or ceremonies. The containers were used to hold jewelry or perfumes, thus embodying an intimate environment for

11772-693: Was used in the Palace of Darius in Susa in the Achaemenid Empire , according to an inscription by Darius I . The raw material was brought from Nubia in Africa and South Asia ( Sind and Arachosia ). Chryselephantine sculptures are figures made of a mixture of ivory, usually for the flesh parts, and other materials, usually gilded , for the clothed parts, and were used for many of the most important cult statues in Ancient Greece and other cultures. These included

11881-602: Was usually obtained from the tusks of elephants in India, and in Roman times, from North Africa; from the 18th century sub-Saharan Africa became the main source. Ivory harvesting led to the extinction, or near-extinction of elephants in much of their former range. In early medieval Northern Europe, walrus ivory was traded south from as far away as Norse Greenland to Scandinavia , southern England and northern France and Germany. In Siberia and Arctic North America, mammoth tusks could be recovered from permafrost and used; this became

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