XINHUA – Ivory Carving, an ancient craft in China, was famous for its elegance due to its pure white material – ivory. The earliest ivory carving artwork was found in a cultural relic in China during the Neolithic Age, dating back to 7,000 years ago.
Beijing Ivory Carving, featuring elegant and luxuriant styles inherited from the imperial art, goes through several main procedures before completion such as designing, hewing, shovelling, face shaping and grinding.
China has been intensifying its efforts in wildlife protection over the years.
On December 30, 2016, China declared that it would enforce a complete end of its domestic ivory trade within a year. Starting from December 31, 2017, processing or selling ivory and its products has been officially banned in China.
Nowadays, carvers use mammoth tusks or antlers as substitutes.
Li Chunke, born in 1949 in Beijing, a national-level intangible cultural heritage inheritor of ivory carving, started to learn the art since 15 years old.
Over the sixty years of his career, Li has formed a uniquely simple and crisp style in his carving. He emphasises on using the most simple lines and skills to express the theme of the artwork, also stressing on the traditional Chinese aesthetics.
Many of his works have won important prizes in the art, with some be regarded as art treasures in China.
In recent years, Li passes down the craft at Chinese National Academy of Arts, Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology and Beijing Light Industry Polytechnic College. He has cultivated over 20 students with master’s degrees in arts and crafts and over 100 apprentices on ivory carving.
He has also presided over the maintaining and repairing projects on 100 plus ancient ivory carving artworks at the Beijing Arts and Crafts Museum.
