Bloody Delight Is it Ethical to Use Material from Endangered Species in the Restoration of 18th...

BUCKS NEW UNIVERSITY MA FURNITURE CONSERVATION RESTORATION &

DECORATIVE ARTS

BLOODY DELIGHT:

Is it Ethical to Use Material from

Endangered Species in the Restoration of

18th Century Furniture?

Second Copy

AUTHOR: Ivo Kipre

ID: 2091659 October 2010

BUCKS NEW UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF CREATIVITY AND CULTURE

MA FURNITURE CONSERVATION RESTORATION &

DECORATIVE ARTS

BLOODY DELIGHT: Is it Ethical to Use

Material from Endangered Species in the

Restoration of 18th Century Furniture?

AUTHOR: Ivo Kipre

ID: 20916593

VMC Tutor: Kate McIntyre MA(RCA)

Module: ADM02-09SB

Word Count: 7933

October 2010

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my family for supporting my dreams, especially to my sisters Katarina

and Nikoleta whose serenity and support means a lot to me.

Also I would like to acknowledge and thank all of the people without who this dissertation

would not be possible. Special thanks to Dr. Campbell Robert Norman-Smith and Mr. Paul

Tear MBE for their help and advices.

I wish to make acknowledgement to Mr. Yannick Chastang and Mr. Donald C. Williams for

sharing their time and information.

Contents

Introduction 1

1 Fascinating materials: Ivory and Turtleshell 3

1.1 Ivory and turtleshell use in furniture decoration 6

2 From exotic material to endangered species 14

2.1 Growing public awareness and CITES agreement 18

3 Material from endangered species in restoration 23

3.1 Alternative materials 27

3.2 In search of the perfect approach 36

Conclusion 39

Endnotes 42

Account of Sources 46

Picture Credits 51

Appendix I: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild

Fauna and Flora 54

Appendix II: Recipe for making turtleshell using horn 60

Appendix III: Imitation of turtleshell by Donald C. Williams 61

Appendix IV: Correspondence with Donald C. Williams 64

1

Introduction

The 18th

century furniture introduced to the world what were probably the best pieces of

furniture ever made. It is unlikely that such imaginative designs and shapes will ever be

surpassed. Many of the pieces of furniture made in this period were decorated with ivory and

turtleshell; materials obtained from species whose existence is threatened. Numbers of these

two species in particular have been significantly reduced in the last century due to numerous

reasons. The perhaps emotional title of this dissertation concerns the issues that link these

two materials. Further more carefully selected image on the front cover, because of both

interesting scene shown and materials used to make characters symbolically encapsulate the

ideas that underpin this research. The main aim of this research is to define to what extent is

it ethical to use these materials and thereby to help to clarify a somewhat obscure subject for

many antique furniture restorers and conservators around the world dealing with 18th

century

furniture. A growing global awareness of the issues of endangered species has certainly

contributed to general confusion among restorers and conservators. The research begins by

introducing these two materials explaining for what purposes they were initially used and

from what animal species they are obtained. Furthermore it will explain the link between

these two materials with respect to the special technique for decorating furniture surfaces

know as marquetry. Special attention will be devoted to Boulle marquetry style furniture in

relation with these two materials. By researching how these animals reached the

disappointing status of being endangered species and close to total extinction the research

will follow the path of turtleshell and ivory through history until the present day. An

international agreement between governments: “the Convention on International Trade in

Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora” better known as CITES that was formulated as

a result of growing public awareness will be next step of this research that is crucial for

2

understanding regulations and restrictions related to the export and import of ivory and

turtleshell. Also all different causes that are contributing to drastic reduction in numbers of

these particular animal species together with constant threats in terms of illegal trade and

poaching will be discussed. In the last chapter of this dissertation several important questions

regarding the amount of genuinely legal materials in restoration workshops and alternative

materials both artificial and natural that are used when restoring 18th

century furniture will be

covered. The chapter will start with explaining the causes responsible for degradation and

missing pieces of ivory and turtleshell on this period furniture and it will end by defining an

appropriate approach based on common practice of recognized restorers and institutions.

3

1. Fascinating materials: Ivory and Turtleshell

The intention of this chapter will be to show link between these two materials and furniture.

This will be done by describing the materials their use, physical characteristics as well as by

describing of the specific techniques that allowed these materials to be used for furniture

decoration.

Ivory and turtleshell1 have been known to mankind for centuries. In the

beginning this was as a part of traditional body decorations by native tribes as

their natural form limited these materials to mainly decorative purposes

(Fig.1). Despite the fact that today we have all sorts of new materials,

admiration for ivory and turtleshell as precious materials has never stopped.

When using the word ivory in an art and historical context we generally

think about elephant tusks, although scientists E. O. Espinoza and M. J.

Mann said:

The chemical structure of teeth and tusks of mammals is the same regardless of

the species of origin. Teeth and tusks have the same physical structures: pulp

cavity, dentine, cementum and enamel. Therefore “ivory” can be correctly

be used to describe any mammalian tooth or tusk of commercial interest

which is large enough to be carved or scrimshawed2

However, in order to reduce confusion the word „ivory‟

is used here for what we traditionally consider to

be ivory, namely elephant tusks. The

tusks of two species of

elephant were used

for decoration

1 Turtleshell or tortoiseshell

2 E. O. Espinoza and M. J. Mann, „The history and significance of the Schreger pattern in proboscidean ivory

characterization‟, Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, vol. 32, no. 3, 1993, pp. 241-48

Figure 1

A 19th

century carved

ivory tusk from Nigeria between

1880 and 1897, Museums Sheffield.

4

purposes: the African elephant (Loxodonta Africana) and the Asian elephant (Elephas

maximus) that can be found in certain areas of Africa and Asia (Fig.2). Despite the

similarities between these two species there are some major differences when talking about

their tusks. The ivory of the African elephant is noticeably bigger and both sexes of this

species have tusks, while cases of females of the Asian elephant barring a tusk are extremely

rare. The size of the tusk is not the only difference between these two species. F. St Aubyn

(ed.) says:

African ivory is not only larger than Indian but also finer grained and richer in tone, though ivory from West

Africa is usually harder and less intensely white3

Turtleshell is one of the natural plastics. It is a keratin based product that is obtained

from the carapace of sea turtles that can be found in the warm seas around the world

(Fig.3)The carapaces of three species of sea turtles were most commonly used: the Green

turtle (Chelonia mydas), the Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) and the Hawksbill turtle

(Eretmochelys imbricata) (Fig.4). All three species are different one from another, and there

3 F. St Aubyn (ed.), Ivory: A History and Collector’s Guide, Thames and Hudson Ltd , London 1987, p. 12

Figure 2 Area range for African and Asian elephants.

5

are even differences within the same species depending on the age of the turtle or the part of

the carapace turtleshell is made of. Yannick Chastang wrote:

The colour of turtleshell from the upper body is generally amber to brown with patches of dark brown,

while the turtleshell taken from the plastron is more even amber yellow.4

4 Y. Chastang, Paintings in wood: French Marquetry Furniture, The Wallace Collection, London, 2001, p. 13

Figure 3 Area range for sea turtles.

Figure 4 Three species of the sea turtles commonly used for the production of turtleshell

for furniture decoration:1) The Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata),2) The Green

turtle (Chelonia mydas), 3) The Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta).

6

1.1. Ivory and turtleshell use in furniture decoration

The popularity of ivory and turtleshell is closely linked to the technique called marquetry.

This represents a special technique of surface decoration where different colour timber or

precious materials are inserted into less valuable, usually wooden, surfaces. Despite the fact

that this technique evolved gradually and at the same time introduced more and more new

materials the fundamental idea of this technique remained the same. It is hard to define

accurately which one of the great civilizations at the time first started to use this technique for

surface decoration. It may be that the best answer on this dilemma was given by Pierre

Ramond:

In fact, it can be said that all civilizations have produced this form of art instinctively, whatever their

geographical location.5

Indeed it is very unlikely that one of these civilizations invented this technique and then all

the others copied it. It was the human desire for decoration creativity and individuality that

inspired this art. The great civilizations like Egypt, the Roman Empire, Persia, India, Japan

and China were all equally successful in using this technique through centuries. Rare pieces

of furniture preserved from those periods evidence their knowledge on marquetry; for

example Egyptian furniture found in the pyramids had most of the woodwork covered with

different precious materials including ivory applied using this technique (Fig.5). During the

Roman Empire a primitive version of this technique called intarsia was extremely popular.

Clifford Penny states:

To Romans the most important piece of furniture in the household was the table used for feasting,

which, besides having decorative veneer, was inlaid with ivory and pearls. Caesar‟s table was reputed

to be his proudest possession.6

However it was not only the ivory that was used for decorating furniture. Both Greek and

Roman authors mention boxes, chests and furniture decorated with turtleshell.7 Even though

5 P. Ramond, Masterpieces of Marquetry: From the Beginnings to Louis XIV, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los

Angeles, 2000, p.9 6 C. Penny, The Fascination of Marquetry, English Universities Press, London, 1954, p. 9

7

this technique was continuously used in Africa and Asia, with the decline of the Roman

Empire marquetry almost completely disappeared in Europe until the 14th

century and the

Renaissance period in Italy where this technique started to develop rapidly and spread to

other developed European countries of that period.

The interesting invention of the tool called a fret-saw (Fig.6) in the 16th

century

revolutionised intarsia work8, and usage of these materials for furniture decoration, especially

turtleshell increased significantly. The fret-saw also introduced the use of different types of

metals in furniture surface decoration such as brass, pewter and copper that were previously

impossible to cut. By combining these two different materials a special type of decoration

7 E. Grall, „Tortoiseshell imitations‟ in P. van Duin and H. Piena (eds.), The Meeting of East and West in the

Furniture Trade: Proceedings; Sixth International Symposium on Wood and Furniture Conservation, Stichting

Ebenist, Amsterdam, 2003, p. 26 8 Chastang, p. 16

Figure 5 Child‟s chair decorated with gold

and ivory, found in Tutankhamun‟s tomb.

8

named Boulle marquetry was invented. It was named after André-Charles Boulle a French

cabinetmaker despite the fact that he did not invent it as it was invented before he was even

born. However it clearly symbolises the kind of impact he had on its development. Working

for the King Louis XIV André-Charles Boulle and his workshop created probably the most

beautiful pieces of furniture in history whose design and details will hardly ever be surpassed.

In the Boulle period marquetry cabinets (Fig.7) were especially popular, along with tables,

wall clocks and consoles. Even though the most common examples of this technique were

turtleshell in combination with metal, some other materials such as wood, horn or ivory were

used as well. To produce sheets of turtleshell plates of the sea turtle carapace had to be

flattened by immersing it in salty water heated to approximately 70˚C and under pressure.

Most often central, lateral and small peripheral plates9 of the dorsal side of the carapace were

used, although even plates from abdominal side of the carapace that are referred to as blonde

turtleshell were used.

9 Ramond, p.32

Figure 6 Fretsaw, the 18th

century drawing from L‟Art du

Menuisier by Jacques-André Ruobo.

9

Figure 7 The Louis XIV cabinet-on-stand from British Collection

of about 1680, attributed to André-Charles Boulle. This

extraordinary piece of furniture embellished with ormolu mounts (1)

clearly demonstrates the skill of using turtleshell (2) in combination

with different types of wood (3) and metal (4).

1.

2. 3.

4.

10

Plates of all three species: the Green turtle (Chelonia mydas) (Fig.8), the Loggerhead turtle

(Caretta caretta) and the Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) were used. However,

some were more characteristic for certain periods as Yannick Chastang concludes:

The loggerhead and the hawksbill turtles produce a thicker shell than the green turtle and it seems

probable that theirs were the preferred shells during the earliest period of production of Boulle

furniture. The green turtle‟s shell became more popular during the nineteenth-century Boulle revival in

France since, being of a more even thickness, it requires less preparatory work.10

Cutting materials with this method not only made designs more precise but also made the

process itself faster as it was possible to make several designs from the same cut. It was

possible to cut two designs of “Boulle” marquetry: metal design in turtleshell background

called première-partie, and turtleshell design in metal background called contre-partie (Fig.

9).Première-partie Boulle marquetry was generally more appreciated and therefore was more

expensive; approximately twenty per cent.11

To increase the effect of turtleshell different

colour papers red and brown most commonly, and gold or silver leafs were glued under the

turtleshell as it is a semi-transparent material. Yannick Chastang points out:

Recent scientific analysis has indicated that much turtle-shell marquetry furniture dating from the late

seventeenth and entire eighteenth century was pigmented with black, while red seems to have been

preferred in the early seventeenth century and in the nineteenth-century Boulle marquetry revival.12

10

Chastang, p.31 11

Chastang, p.19 12

Chastang, p.34

Figure 8 Carapace of the Green turtle (Chelonia mydas).

11

What started in the middle of 17th century in terms of marquetry decorated furniture

experienced a complete revival during the 18th

century. However it was not just marquetry

decoration that experienced this revival. The 18th

century brought progress in every field of

science and society. The key to this phenomenon lies in just one fact and that was the

population growth of approximately 66 per cent over the century on estimates from 1701.13

The population increase resulted in higher demand which increased the market, improved the

13

B. Ford (ed.), Eighteenth-Century Britain, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1991, referenced by C. D.

Edwards, Eighteenth-Century furniture, Manchester University Press, Manchester and New York, 1996, p. 5

Figure 9 Pair of Louis XIV coffres en tombeau, left: contre-partie and right:

première-partie, attributed to André-Charles Boulle, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.

12

trade of products and ideas between the countries and inspired more frequent maritime travel

that made materials imported from colonies more accessible than ever. This revival had an

impact on the development of techniques and range of materials available. The marquetry

“donkey” (Fig.10) is definitely one of those developments that made cutting with a fret-saw

even easier. Furthermore the 18th

century a introduced new technique for making marquetry

designs called the advanced inlay technique which was in fact developed from the intarsia

technique.14

This new technique included using the fret-saw and marquetry donkey together

with a shoulder knife (Fig.11), a kind of developed version of the cutting knife used on

intarsia. The designs were first cut

with the fret-saw on a marquetry

donkey and then were inlayed into a

background using shoulder knife. A

change of fashion in the middle of

18th

century resulted in decreased

demand for Boulle marquetry furniture and almost a century passed before Boulle marquetry

14

Chastang, p.20

Figure 10 The 18th

century marquetry donkey, drawing from L‟Art du

Menuisier by Jacques-André Ruobo.

Figure 11 The 18th

century shoulder knife,

drawing from L‟Art du Menuisier by

Jacques-André Ruobo.

13

was fashionable again in a period called the Boulle revival during the reign of Napoleon III.

Today despite huge technical development and “high tech” equipment such as marquetry

lasers, the traditional method of the fret-saw and marquetry donkey is still used because of

both practical and economical reasons (Fig.12).

Figure 12 Cutting a marquetry design on the

custom made marquetry donkey, workshops of

Bucks New University, High Wycombe.

14

2. From exotic material to endangered species

This chapter will introduce historical facts and data that significantly affected populations of

these animal species. This will explain the path of these materials from exotic to endangered

species. Special attention is dedicated to Special attention is dedicated to “the Convention on

International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora” also known as CITES

and its role in protecting these species.

The demand for these “exotic” materials is more than justified if we consider their

aesthetic and other characteristics. However, it would be unreasonable not to consider that

the growing desire for these materials was affected by the specific phenomena of “exotic” as

something new and unknown, as well as by the other phenomena of following fashions.

Talking about turtleshell Yannick Chastang wrote:

The appeal of the exotic being what it is, it is worth considering whether perhaps turtleshell would

ever have become so desirable, were turtles to be found naturally in the Seine.15

Trade of these materials existed from the very beginning. Initially it was of a local

nature but it did not take too long time until other countries recognized their aesthetic

potential. Obviously most of great civilizations were obliged to import ivory from elephant‟s

natural habitats. Arabs and China were among the first to import significant amounts of

ivory. Arabs traded on the east coast of Africa already in 3rd

century BC and Chinese

imported ivory from Siam, India and Burma, after they had used up supplies of ivory

obtained from the native Chinese elephant that was extinct in 2nd

century BC.16

It is hard to

believe that initial trade in ivory seriously decreased the number of elephants as the trade was

slow and the market was rather small, but it certainly contributed as it was a beginning of

almost complete extinction of the species. Even though ivory was present in Europe from an

15

Chastang, p. 29 16

F. St Aubyn (ed.), p. 18

15

early stage it was not until 16th

century that European countries joined this growing market.

The search for the “New World” that was at its peak during this period encouraged colonial

exploitation of natural recourses of the new colonies. Interestingly, but not that extraordinary

from historic point of view considering that they were among strongest maritime forces of

that period Portuguese were metaphorically speaking crucial for European contribution to

something that almost led to the complete extinction of elephants and sea turtles. Apart from

some notable exceptions they were primarily responsible for the introduction of turtleshell to

Europe17

and were first among European countries that started to have an impact on the

number of elephants by the export of ivory from west coast of Africa. However, the

Portuguese are not the only ones to blame as shortly afterwards, all major European countries

including Holland, France and Great Britain started to follow their example (Fig.13).

The elephant species suffered mostly for their ivory, although they were hunted for

their meat, bones, skin, leather and hair. In the 19th

century the appetite for this material

17

L. de Caunes, L’écaille, Éditions Vial, Dourdan Cedex,1997, p. 12

Figure13 Principal trade route in 18th

century (green) and trade route used by Portugese in

the 16th

century (red).

16

became insatiable, and ivory starts to be used more and more for industrial purposes and not

only for artistic expression that was the case in the past.18

All sorts of objects were made

from this material including: billiard balls, handles for cutlery, tools and umbrellas, piano

keys and chess figures. It is worth mentioning that ivory used on decorating furniture

surfaces derived mainly from off-cuts.19

Initially the turtleshell was predominately used for “Boulle” style furniture until the

19th

century and the Industrial Revolution when an interesting discovery affected the way this

material could be used and turtleshell started to be used more often for industrial purposes as

it was case with the ivory. Lison de Caunes pointed out:

The discovery of its autograft

possibilities in the 19th

century, which

allowed working tortoiseshell from the

block, extended considerably its

application to other fields. From then on,

it could be welded, turned, sculpted,

shaped, and tortoiseshell artisans were

able to make real “tortoiseshell lace”20

In the 19th

and 20th

centuries

turtleshell produced from

carapaces of the Hawksbill turtle

(Eretmochelys imbricata) was

particularly used and soon the

main markets in Europe, North

America and Japan were showed

the introduction of luxury objects

such as jewellery, combs,

cigarette boxes, makeup boxes

18

F. St Aubyn (ed.), p. 18 19

F. St Aubyn (ed.), p. 18 20

Caunes, p. 14

Figure 14 Raw turtleshell sheets and traditional

tools used.

17

and lorgnettes made from this material.21

The ratio of usable turtleshell material that can be

produced from sea turtles can be explained with a rough mathematical formula: of two

hundred kilos weight for a sea turtle approximately 2 kilos of usable raw turtleshell (Fig.14)

can be produced22

, and if we consider the unwritten rule that around fifty percent of that

material is process waste23

we come to the shocking fact that 0.5 per cent of total body weight

of sea turtle is material that is actually used. Other than for turtleshell sea turtles were and

unfortunately still are hunted for their meat, skin and eggs.

21

CITES website: <http://www.cites.org/eng/prog/hbt/bg/trade_status.shtml> accessed on 2 Aug 2010 22

Caunes, p. 17 23

Caunes, p. 27

18

2.1. Growing public awareness and CITES agreement

It is almost certain that through the history there were attempts to protect these species from

extinction; however, they were insufficient to affect the growing greed of the consumer

society. Fortunately, public awareness of the issues of protecting wild fauna and flora

suddenly increased in the second half of the 20th

century, at the time when both elephant and

sea turtle species experienced the biggest population decreases, and since then hundreds of

organizations around the world were funded and great efforts have been made to protect

species threatened with extinction. One of the biggest results of that “growing awareness” is

an international agreement between governments: “the Convention on International Trade in

Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora” also known as CITES. It was first formed in

1960s but it came into force on 1 July 1975, and its aim is to ensure that international trade in

specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.24

Endangered species

within this convention are divided into three Appendices: Appendix I, II and III (Appendix I)

depending on how badly their survival is threatened.

The elephant species were placed on CITES Appendices from an early stage due to

the huge decline in the number of elephants caused by ivory trade throughout the centuries.

Since 1975 the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) was added on Appendix I, which means

that trade in this species is generally banned and possible only under special circumstances

(Appendix I), however, the African elephant (Loxodonta Africana) was first added to

Appendix III on request of Ghana in 1976, then transferred to Appendix II only one year later

and finally transferred to Appendix I in 1989. This inexplicably late decision to ban all trade

in ivory resulted in massive poaching in period between 1979 and 1989 which led to a huge

decrease in the population of the African elephant from an estimated 1.3 million to a

24

CITES website: <http://www.cites.org/eng/disc/what.shtml> accessed on 30 Jul 2010

19

disappointing 600,000.25

The populations of the African elephants of Botswana, Namibia,

Zimbabwe and South Africa were additionally transferred to Appendix II which allowed only

strictly controlled trade. Since then legal trade in ivory has been minimized (Fig.15) and only

on two occasions were one-off sales that were approved by CITES Standing Committee and

bigger amounts of ivory were sold. The last one took place in 2008 and after that it is

decided that no other larger sale of stockpiled ivory will take place until the end of a

minimum 9 year resting period.26

Unfortunately, despite all that has been achieved by CITES member countries considering the

trade of these species, the population of both African elephant and Asian elephant has been

decreasing rapidly due to illegal trade. Based on records of ivory seizures provided by the

Species Survival Network (SSN), an organization collecting records about seizures of

endangered species for CITES, there has been growing demand for ivory in consumer

countries over the last 15 years27

(Fig.16).

25

The Born Free Foundation, Inconvenient But True:The Unrelenting Global Trade in Elephant Ivory, Report

Prepared for the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES, The Hague, 2007, p. 7 26

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, Consideration of

Proposals for Amendment of Appendices I and II, Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, Doha,

2010, p. 2 27

The Born Free Foundation, Inconvenient But True: The Unrelenting Global Trade in Elephant Ivory, p. 7

Figure 15 Imports of tusks (kg) of taxonomic family Elephantidae from 1989 to 2008.

20

Poaching represents a huge problem for the African countries and the fight against poaching

reached the point that governments of several countries even organized ceremonial burnings

of tons of ivory to send a clear message to poachers (Fig.17).

Figure 16 Ivory seizures between 1989 and 2006,

Species Survival Network (SSN).

Figure 17 Ceremonial burning of ivory in Kenya 1995.

21

Unlike the case of elephant species where man directly affected the decrease of their

population, population of sea turtles was affected both directly and indirectly. Directly by

hunting it for different reasons and indirectly as they accidentally get caught in fish nets and

because of degradation of their habitat on land and pollution of the sea. Another

inconvenient fact is that sea turtles reach sexual maturity at a relatively late stage28

which

makes it difficult for them to easily regenerate their population reduction. All three species

of sea turtles that were commonly used for producing turtleshell: the Green turtle (Chelonia

mydas), the Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) and the Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys

imbricata) entered CITES Appendix II in 1975 and were then transferred to Appendix I in

1977 except the Atlantic Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata ssp. imbricata) that has

been in Appendix I since 1975. Japan acceded to CITES in 1980, but with a reservation on

the Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)29

as turtleshell carvings of that species; in

Japanese known as bekko30

traditionally represented an important part of their culture. Their

reservation on this species was withdrawn in 1994 and since then trade within this species has

been prohibited, however, until that period a huge amount of turtleshell had been imported as

shown (Fig.18). Cuba still holds a reservation on this species and their proposal for selling

tons of stockpiled turtleshell to Japan and transferring Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys

imbricata) to Appendix I was rejected twice.

Even though the legal trade in sea turtles has decreased markedly since they have

been added to CITES Appendices (Fig 19), constant poaching for their eggs, accidental

catching in fishnets and continuous destruction of their natural habitat still represents huge

problems for their rapidly decreasing populations.

28

A. B. Bolten, K. A. Bjorndal, J. S. Grumbles, D. W. Owens, „Sex Ratio and Sex-Specific Growth Rates of

Immature Green Turtles, Chelonia mydas, in the Southern Bahamas‟, Copeia, vol. 1992, no. 4, 1992, pp. 1098-

1103 29


CITES website: <http://www.cites.org/eng/prog/hbt/bg/trade_status.shtml> accessed on 2 Aug 2010

22

Figure 18 Japanese Customs Statistics of imported Hawksbill

turtleshell to Japan from1950 to 1998.

Figure 19 Import of carapaces of Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys

imbricata), Green turtle (Chelonia mydas) and Loggerhead turtle (Caretta

caretta) from 1994 to 2008.

23

3. Material from endangered species in restoration

This chapter considers the data on the legal materials and different practises within the

different countries. This gives an idea as to the quantities of these materials in the restoration

workshops and how accessible these materials are. Subsequently discussion will focus on

alternative materials both natural and artificial with the intention of finding the most suitable

alternative materials when restoring missing pieces of ivory and turtleshell on 18th

century

furniture.

Before mentioning all the different approaches and alternative materials that have

been used for imitating turtleshell and ivory through the centuries it is important to mention

what are the causes of missing pieces of material from endangered species from marquetry

decorations on furniture? The effect of changing relative humidity represents a huge problem

for any object made from organic material especially marquetry furniture pieces. Drastic

change of relative humidity will force the wooden surface under the marquetry design to

move which will then lead to breaking of the animal glue adhesive that is between the ivory

and turtleshell veneer and the wooden surface and finally to the pieces falling off. On Boulle

marquetry pieces it is brass or other applied metal that usually lifts as organic animal glue

adheres better with the turtleshell material of similar origin. However it does not necessarily

mean that metal parts suffer bigger losses compared to turtleshell. Logically as both

turtleshell and ivory are organic components31

changes of relative humidity will affect the

material itself causing them to deteriorate in a specific way. Constantly high relative

humidity will cause them to swell and warp and constantly low relative humidity will cause

them to crack. This phenomenon is particularly characteristic for ivory especially for thinner

31

S. Rivers and N. Umney, Conservation of Furniture, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, 2003, p. 315

24

pieces of ivory veneer32

used in marquetry designs. Another reason that causes loss of pieces

of turtleshell and ivory on marquetry furniture is vandalism and bad handling; perhaps not so

often but still significant.

Even though ivory and turtleshell have been used for decorating furniture for

centuries it is hard to believe that the furniture industry has been responsible for the drastic

reduction of the populations of these species. However killing even one sea turtle or elephant

to get the material for decorating furniture is contributing to the extinction of these species.

Furthermore if it would be possible to define accurate statistics on the amount of these

materials used by different industries we would certainly come to the conclusion that the

amount of these materials that were used for restoration purposes would be even more

insignificant and almost irrelevant. Legal natural new material of both turtleshell and ivory is

extremely rare on the market nowadays and they are usually small stocks of pre-banned

material, still illegal material is present to a large degree. Until recently huge amounts of

these materials were traded illegally through internet sales, particularly through the auction

website eBay33

. However trade in both materials was deservedly banned under pressure from

numerous organisations. One thing is certain: there would not be poaching if there was not

for desire, but to believe that restorers are the one that dictate this desire would be excessive.

When thinking about all the seized material that is usually stockpiled and sometimes more

radically even burnt, one cannot resist the idea that those beautiful materials could be used for

so many ethically correct purposes such as restoration instead of decaying on the shelves or

being burnt, however the unethical origin of the materials should represent a barrier to the

restorer. One should also think about the consequences of allowing seized material to be

used as it would probably send the wrong message to the poachers that would inspire new

illegal hunting of these species.

32

S. Rivers and N. Umney, p. 315 33

E. Martin and D. Stiles, Ivory Markets of Europe: A survey in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK,

Care for the Wild International and Save the Elephants, London, 2005, p. 96

25

Despite the fact that most of the countries of the world, precisely 175 of them34

are

member of the CITES Convention there are certain dissimilarities when it comes to the

import and export and stocks of these materials. France has probably the biggest amount of

stocked legal ivory and turtleshell which is logical if we consider that France was the centre

of Boulle style furniture production at the time. However another interesting decision of the

French Government affected increasing of the stocks and supply of workshops particularly

with the turtleshell as in 1992 all turtleshell in France had to be declared.35

In this way a

stock of legal turtleshell was created and since then all recognized conservation workshops in

France have been supplied with legal genuine material. There are also private suppliers of

legal turtleshell in France like Monsieur George Veneers36

that bought old stocks of this

material from artisans that were forced to close their turtleshell workshops due to CITES

agreement and ban on trade of this material. Trade is however purely domestic because of

the agreement in place.

Talking about ivory it is quiet interesting to note that EU37

allows import of ivory

antiques if they are manufactured before 1 June 194738

and domestic trade in raw and worked

material is legal.39

Talking about stocked ivory in Europe Esmond Martin and Daniel Stiles

point out:

France and Germany are the only countries that stockpile and trade raw ivory. These stockpiles are held

mainly by craftsmen and museums and are registered with the government. France‟s stockpiles were

estimated at 50 tonnes in 2000 while Germany is believed to hold national stockpiles of at least 20

tonnes, since the Erbach Ivory Museum in Germany alone stocks 18-20 tonnes. 40

34


Yannick Chastang, recognized restorer and marquetry furniture maker, Yannick Chastang Limited, Kent,

interviewed 12 Aug 2010 36

Paul Tear MBE, course leader for the BA (Hons) Furniture Conservation, Restoration & Decorative Arts

course, Bucks New University, High Wycombe, interviewed 5 Aug 2010 37

European Union 38

Martin and Stiles, p. 5 39


Martin and Stiles, p. 5

26

In the UK on the other hand the system regarding stocks and supply of ivory and turtleshell is

very different; it could also be regarded as somewhat obscure.41

There is no government

supported supply for museums and conservation workshops with these materials so genuine

material is mostly part of old stocks. In order to be classified as legal turtleshell had to be in

the country before 194742

and documentation verifying this has to be provided otherwise the

material is illegal. An exceptional case of importing some legal turtleshell from Paris took

place eleven years ago and it was available for sale through British Antique Furniture

Restorers Association (BAFRA).43

Undoubtedly, the UK is the biggest European exporter of worked ivory in the form of

antique furniture shipments to the USA.44

Furthermore it is amongst European countries that

import sizeable amounts of worked ivory from USA.45

In the UK there is basically no raw

ivory as there is no legal ivory manufacturing industry.46

Despite being part of the CITES when it comes to the import and export of these

controversial materials the USA implements different regulations and laws. In order to be

imported to USA an object completely or partially made of ivory or turtleshell has to be

antique which means it has to be at least 100 years old.47

Even if a piece of furniture made

using ivory or turtleshell is declared as antique according to this regulation any additionally

added material in shape of restoration repairs has also to be at least 100 years old48

otherwise

it will be treated as illegal and it will be seized or even more radically destroyed and the

owner at risk of huge financial penalties and prison.

41

Yannick Chastang, interviewed 12 Aug 2010 42


C. R. Norman-Smith, „Development of Artificial Shell for Boulle Furniture‟, A Thesis for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy, Faculty of Design, Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, Brunel University,

2003, p. 33 44




U. S. Custom and Border Protection website:

<http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg/prohibited_restricted.xml#FishandWildlife> accessed on 14

Aug 2010 48

Yannick Chastang, interviewed 12 Aug 2010

27

3.1. Alternative materials

Bearing in mind all previously mentioned facts together with the depletion of current stocks,

the obvious lack of new legal material on the market that is supported with rather

complicated regulation when importing these materials following CITES agreement the

restorer is in a way forced to use alternative materials to try to produce the effect of these

precious materials. Even though it can be questioned whether or not it is ethical to use

alternative materials i.e. imitations instead of original ivory and turtleshell, using these

products could not be compared with unethical usage of genuine but illegal materials that

would contribute to extinction of these species.

Human desire for imitating luxury materials exists for the centuries and materials like

gold, ivory, marble, ebony etc were successfully imitated. Reed Benhamou concludes:

The simulation of ivory must have been quite ancient since as early as 1485 the corporate statutes for

Paris guilds forbade the combination of ivory with horn.49

First recipes for imitating turtleshell were published in 17th

century50

, and were that

successful that in order to make distinction between genuine and imitation material a

thorough control had to be undertaken.51

The opinion of the public on imitation was divided,

however, as Reed Benhamou concludes in his article:

In eighteenth-century France and England, as is clear from their literatures of aesthetics and

technology, imitation was as accepted as it was accomplished.52

Another important fact about the imitations that has to be emphasised is that desire for

imitation did not exist exclusively for economic reasons so less wealthy people could afford

fashionable objects but also for other reasons such as the high cost and difficulty in supplying

49

R. Benhamou, „Imitations in the Decorative Arts of the Eighteenth Century‟, Journal of Design History, vol.4,

no. 1, 1991, pp. 1-13 50

C. D. Edwards, p. 99 51

R. Vuilleumier, „Werkstoffe der kunstschreinerei. Elfenbein, knochen, horn, perlmutter, fischbein und

fischhaut‟, Maltechnik restauro, vol. 86, no. 2, 1980, pp. 106-123 referenced by E. Grall, „Tortoiseshell

imitations‟, p. 27 52

R. Benhamou, pp. 1-13

28

exotic materials for example ebony wood53

that was imitated by dyed similar grain cheaper

European wood species, as well as for reasons of being unsuitable for marquetry due to poor

physical properties as in case of lapis lazuli that was imitated with horn that had a blue paper

backing.54

If we consider the previously mentioned fact that the chemical structure of every

mammal‟s teeth and tusk is the same no matter from which particular species it derives55

we

will come to the conclusion that there are great numbers of natural ivory substitutes that can

be successfully used. The ideal natural and legal alternative to ivory is the Mammoth

(Mammuthus) tusk (Fig.20) as Mammoths are part of the same order Proboscidea as both

African elephants (Loxodonta Africana) and Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). The fact

that their tusk has been legal the Mammoth can ironically speaking credit to the unfortunate

truth that this specie has been extinct for 10,000 years. Despite the age of this alternative

material Mammoth tusk has been well preserved over the years because of specific

geographical nature of Alaska and Siberia56

where it can be found. Sadly but true the other

two remaining species of elephant are going in the same direction, and it could be question of

years that all ivory will be completely legal. Another natural traditionally used alternative to

ivory is Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) tusk. Walrus tusk has a similar shape to elephant tusk

and it is relatively easily carvable. It was especially popular in the European market at the

time of the Islamic conquests in 7th

and 8th

century AD when the import of ivory decreased

considerably. 57

This species is CITES listed, however trade is not completely prohibited as

it is listed in Appendix III (Appendix I). Other alternative sources that have the same

chemical structure as ivory include: Walrus, Sperm whale (Physter catodon) and Killer whale

53

Chastang, p.30 54

Chastang, p.28 55

E. O. Espinoza and M. J. Mann, „The history and significance of the Schreger pattern in proboscidean ivory

characterization‟,pp. 241-48 56

E. O. Espinoza and M. J. Mann, Identification Guide for Ivory and Ivory Substitutes, 2nd

edn, WWF

Publications, Baltimore, 1992, p. 10 57


29

(Orcinus orca) teeth, Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) tusk and canines of Hippopotamus

(Hippopotamus amphibius) and Warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus). Vegetable ivory

(Fig.21), a nut of the Tagua palm tree (Phytelephas macrocarpa) is another suitable

alternative material for ivory58

that was discovered in 19th

century.59

58

E. O. Espinoza and M. J. Mann, Identification Guide for Ivory and Ivory Substitutes, p. 24 59


Figure 20 Tip of Mammoth tusk.

Figure 21 The Tagua palm tree nut.

30

Bones that have similar density as ivory have also been used traditionally. Shayne Rivers and

Nick Umney points out:

Bones with a comparative density to ivory, such as the long bones of cattle, camel (high density) or

horses may also be used to replace losses.60

Producing manufactured or artificial substitutes for ivory was the obsession of many

professionals over the centuries, however it was not until the 19th

century and the discovery

of celluloid and further development of the plastic industry in 20th

that more significant

artificial ivory substitutes were produced. To a large degree production of these specific

materials was inspired by ban on ivory trade in 1970s. The first celluloid based production of

artificial ivory was made for billiard balls and was produced by John Wesley Hyatt in 1868.

Despite being invented so long ago celluloid sheets of ivory can still be found on the market.

Probably the best material among the artificial alternatives is polyester resin, primarily used

in other industries for example in the automobile and marine industries, still it is widely used

for restoration purposes as a source for artificial materials and as wood filler. Artificial ivory

made from this material can look like genuine ivory to the extent that even an experienced

eye will have slight difficulties in distinguishing one from another (Fig.22).

60

S. Rivers and N. Umney, p. 670

Figure 22 Top: polyester resin, below: genuine ivory.

31

It also has good moisture and UV resistance. Combination of solid properties, great

similarity to ivory aesthetically and accessibility made this material an important element in

most of the restoration workshops. Ivory dust combined with styrene resin creates another

acceptable material however only to some extent as CITES restrictions are applied to any

particular form of ivory.

The desire to produce material that would imitate turtleshell on furniture is probably

as old as appearance of turtleshell on Boulle style furniture. Cattle horn is one of the best

natural materials that was and still is used as a successful alternative for turtleshell (Fig.23).

Even before the Boulle style furniture came into fashion and horn began to be massively used

as well for imitating turtle shell it was used independently for furniture decoration in many

furniture workshops across Europe. This specific craft was especially popular in England and

in many occasions „ready to use‟ turtleshell was even exported to France.61

61

P. Verlet, Les Meubles Français Du Xviii° Siecle, Presses Universitaires de France, Paris Cedex, 1959,

referenced by R. Benhamou, pp. 1-13

Figure 23 Left: cattle horn, centre: semi transparent sheet of cattle horn,

right: Transparent sheet of cattle horn.

32

The key to this phenomenon of horn as a very good alternative material for turtleshell is

based on the fact that both materials are keratin based natural plastics which means that they

have similar properties and something that was particularly important at the time when this

method was invented the same tools and same method could be used62

in the processes of

getting sheets of these materials. In addition to previously mentioned reasons cattle horn was

also popular among the cabinet makers because of low price and accessibility. To get sheets

of horn, to start with it is necessary to cut horn in specific way (Fig.24) and then the method

of boiling and pressing horn that is used for producing sheets of turtleshell could be applied.

In general outer layers of horn appear to be less transparent.63

Historically transparent sheets

of horn were backed with painted paper to produce characteristic the pigmentation of turtle

shell, today the use of special paste that reacts with the sulphur in horn to form lead

62

E. Grall, „Tortoiseshell imitations‟, p. 31 63

Chastang, p. 34

Figure 24 Cutting the horn sheet, from Planches de l'encyclopédie by

Diderot et d'Alembert.

33

sulphide64

helping coloured marking penetrate deeply into the horn.65

In this way it is

possible to create an extremely realistic illusion of genuine turtleshell pigmentation. In order

to achieve the effect of this precious material in some cases neither more nor less ordinary

paint backed with metal leaf was used or even paint by itself66

, however as Donald C.

Williams concludes:

Since this is not an „in the round‟ approach but purely an applied surface decoration, it is not entirely

clear if this method should be included in any survey of imitation tortoiseshell.67

Another successful method for imitating horn and turtleshell that was introduced in 19th

century was making sheets by dipping wire netting into fish glue solution several times until

the required thickness was achieved. When dry, sheets were coloured to provide the

particular pattern and finally polished. A great combination of both artificial and natural is a

specific technique introduced only recently by Donald C. Williams Senior Furniture

Conservator at the Smithsonian Institution's Centre for Materials Research and Education and

it is characterized by using modified collagen derived from hide glue that once formed into

plates has similar working properties to the original keratin based sea turtle plates.68

It would

be harsh to say that this method is based on the previously mentioned technique however it is

certainly inspired by it. After one layer of glue is dried a specific pattern imitating turtleshell

is applied and then another layer of glue is cast over it. With the addition of plasticiser and

cross-linking agents, the stability and working properties of this material are significantly

improved. Dr. Campbell Norman-Smith‟s PhD titled Development of Artificial Shell for

Boulle Furniture offers an interesting technique that allows restoring missing pieces with

shellac based filling (Fig.25). The shellac that is the main resin in this material is improved

by adding plasticisers whereby the shellac‟s flexibility and resistance to moisture are

64



D. C. Williams, „Tortoiseshell and imitation tortoiseshell‟ in P. van Duin and H. Piena (eds.), The Meeting of

East and West in the Furniture Trade: Proceedings; Sixth International Symposium on Wood and Furniture

Conservation, Stichting Ebenist, Amsterdam, 2003, p. 37 67

D. C. Williams, p. 37 68

D. C. Williams, p. 37

34

significantly improved, as shellac on its own would be unsuitable69

.Furthermore heating the

composition under precise temperature will improve this material‟s resistance to heat and

impact.70

Working in the workshops of Bucks New University in High Wycombe I have had

the opportunity to personally evidence the high quality and characteristics of this particular

material. A whole range of different natural and synthetic materials like waxes (Fig.26),

resins, cellulose nitrate, cellulose acetate, acrylics and polyvinyl chloride, but also: phenol,

formaldehyde, polyester and epoxies have been used for making artificial turtleshell, all of

them with certain advantages but still with great many disadvantages. Of the above

mentioned materials sheets of artificial turtleshell made of cellulose acetate and polyester

resin are the most common ones in restoration workshops around Europe especially in private

ones.

69

C. R. Norman-Smith, p. 164 70

C. R. Norman-Smith, p. 164

Figure 25 Restoration treatment using shellac based artificial turtleshell on 19th

century card table, a student project at Bucks New University in High Wycombe.

35

Figure 26 Filling the gaps using red colour wax filler on 19th

century card table, a

student project at Bucks New University in High Wycombe.

36

3.2. In search of the perfect approach

For one not completely familiar with this subject a title of this sub-chapter could seem

ineffective considering the fact that the only perfect approach when restoring missing pieces

of turtleshell and ivory on 18th

century furniture is using genuine materials. Yet the reality is

that not all pieces of furniture will get to be treated using this approach. It is ironic that in

some cases even using genuine turtleshell when restoring 18th

century furniture would not be

completely correct as the stocks of this material consist to a large part of turtleshell obtained

from plates of the Hawksbill turtle71

(Eretmochelys imbricata) the most common one before

the CITES‟s ban on trade of sea turtles, so in the case that the piece of furniture was

decorated using turtleshell of the other two species sometimes it would not be possible to use

that specific type of turtleshell. However the differences between turtleshell of these three

species are minimal which makes the previously mentioned fact almost irrelevant. Most of

the recognized restorers and conservators who work with 18th

century marquetry furniture

and most of the museum workshops that have this type of furniture in their collection have

stocks of both legal ivory and turtleshell. However stocks held by some of the museum

workshops in the UK like the Wallace Collection and the Victoria and Albert Museum are

much smaller compared to workshops in Paris.72

Nevertheless 18th

century furniture held in

UK collections is generally in very good condition73

and old stocks are used wisely.74

A

recently demonstrated method by the Wallace Collection workshop where plates of genuine

turtleshell are sliced with a micro-planer and then laminated to a support75

clearly evidences

the practice of the careful consumption. A similar method of gluing thinner pieces of ivory

71



Based on site visits to both of these museums 74



37

on wood supports usually of Balsa wood (Ochroma pyramidale)76

in order to achieve a

thicker layer of ivory is also common practice. Despite all the well-known issues related to

supply of genuine materials both private restorers and museum workshops manage to build

up stocks of these materials due to the interesting method of “recycling” removing ivory and

turtleshell form a breaker77

or extremely damaged piece of furniture. Describing this method

Dr. Campbell Norman-Smith wrote:

This method of building up a stock is not new and is practised by many restorers and conservators

wishing to use authentic materials for the restoration and conservation of valuable pieces.

Alternatively, those wishing to purchase turtleshell for repairs may find an obliging fellow restorer

willing to sell a piece.78

Ivory “recycling” by using old ivory piano keys79

is a very common practice for building

stocks of this material.

When thinking about all the mentioned alternatives, both natural and artificial, it is

obvious that there is wide range of these materials; however their quality varies from very

good and acceptable to completely unacceptable. Most of the natural alternatives are present

on the market nowadays to only a limited extent. Their price is another potential problem; a

good quality raw Mammoth ivory is more expensive then African and Asian elephant raw

ivory.80

On the other hand most of the artificially made ones are completely unacceptable

particularly aesthetically (Fig.27) when talking about the artificial alternatives of turtleshell.

When talking about properties of that artificial turtleshell Donald C. Williams concludes:

Thus we have ideal model of the desired physical properties for imitation tortoiseshell:

1 partially thermoplastic;

2 partially thermosetting;

3 manipulable by heat and moisture for moulding and shaping while retaining physical integrity and

toughness;

4 easily worked by traditional craft tools and abrasives in the hardened cured state;

76

K. Z. Gillis and D. P. Curry, „Conservation of an ivory-clad drop-front secretary from Vizigapatam, India‟ in

P. van Duin and H. Piena (eds.), The Meeting of East and West in the Furniture Trade: Proceedings; Sixth

International Symposium on Wood and Furniture Conservation, Stichting Ebenist, Amsterdam, 2003, p.15 77



Donald C. Williams, Senior Furniture Conservator, Smithsonian Institution's Centre for Materials Research

and Education, Washington, D.C., interviewed 17 Aug 2010 80


38

5 able to be glued to a wooden substrate with traditional hot animal glue;

6 able to be varnished or polished;

7 able to be made to mimic desired mottled appearance and laminar morphology;

8 coloration is internal to the material, not applied to its surface.81

This list of requirements reinforced with unsurprisingly important long term stability and

reversibility that can be applied to some extent to the ivory imitation narrows down

drastically the number of good and acceptable methods. A significant caution should be

applied when deciding the “perfect” approach as using unacceptable materials would not only

mean that piece of furniture will have to be treated again within a short period of time82

which will mean the new stress of restoration for the piece and new financial expenses, but it

can permanently harm the integrity of the piece of furniture.

81

D. C. Williams, p. 35 82


Figure 27 Examples of common artificial turtleshell material.

39

Conclusion

Today all elephant and sea turtle species are seriously endangered and their populations are

critically reduced. The precious materials of ivory and turtleshell obtained from those species

were used as materials for decorating furniture surfaces for centuries. Even though ivory has

been used constantly for those purposes, turtleshell on the other hand was not often used as a

material for decorating furniture until the 17th

century and development of the Boulle

marquetry technique. It is important to note that the more frequent usage of these materials

was a logical result of progress that appeared in 17th

and continued through 18th

century that

affected every field of science and society. More frequent maritime travel inspired by the

search for the “New World” established new trade routes that enabled import of huge

quantities of these materials into European markets. In parallel with development of science

and all other aspects of life in subsequent centuries the amounts of imported ivory and

turtleshell were also increasing. In the 19th

century the Industrial Revolution focussed the

main purpose of these materials from exclusively artistic to the completely new direction of

industrial purposes. Despite the fact that these materials have been used for centuries for

decorating furniture and producing all kind of artistic and industrial objects it was not until

last century that significant damage was inflicted on to the population of elephants and sea

turtles. Unfortunately these animals are still threatened directly because of constant poaching

and indirectly by the destruction of their natural habitat. International agreement between the

governments: “the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna

and Flora” also known as CITES that entered in force on 1 July 1975 significantly reduced

international trade of these animal species. However poaching and illegal trade continued

despite all the strict rules and regulations. By researching this subject in a way it remained

40

unclear how CITES agreement actually impacts on the reduction of poaching. However this

issue is beyond the restoration profession.

After detailed research on different rules and regulation related to these two materials

a clear distinction is made between legal and illegal material which successfully answers the

main question of this dissertation: Is it Ethical to Use Material from Endangered Species in

the Restoration of 18th Century Furniture? Using legally obtained ivory and turtleshell is

completely ethical and it certainly does not contribute to the extinction of elephants or sea

turtles. Despite the fact that considering all the statistics there should be enough legal

genuine ivory and turtleshell many restoration workshops around the world are experiencing

serious lack of these materials. It is obvious that regardless of serious effort from many

organisations around the globe these materials have still been used for production of new

objects. Just the material obtained from animals that died by natural and accidental death that

is very often in case of sea turtles that get caught in fishnets would suffice to meet the

demands of the conservation and restoration workshops that certainly do not represent serious

danger for populations of these species. A legal way should be defined in order to deliver

these materials for probably the most ethical purpose of all: namely the restoration of

beautiful antique furniture that was originally decorated with ivory and turtleshell.

A whole range of different alternative materials both natural and artificial that can

imitate genuine ivory and turtleshell are present on the market. By a large degree these are a

result of the current rather complicated situation when building stocks of legal genuine

materials and the development of materials particularly in the plastic industry. Even though

their ethicality could be questioned as the only correct approach when restoring missing

pieces of these materials is using genuine ivory and turtleshell, using an alternative is

certainly more ethical then using illegally obtained material. Still when using alternative

materials a significant caution should be used as most of the products offered on the market

41

are completely unacceptable and could have dire consequences for the piece of furniture‟s

long term stability.

42

Endnotes

1 Turtleshell or tortoiseshell

2 E. O. Espinoza and M. J. Mann, „The history and significance of the Schreger pattern in proboscidean ivory

characterization‟, Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, vol. 32, no. 3, 1993, pp. 241-48

3 F. St Aubyn (ed.), Ivory: A History and Collector’s Guide, Thames and Hudson Ltd , London 1987, p. 16

4 Y. Chastang, Paintings in wood: French Marquetry Furniture, The Wallace Collection, London, 2001, p. 13

5 P. Ramond, Masterpieces of Marquetry: From the Beginnings to Louis XIV, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los

Angeles, 2000, p.9

6 C. Penny, The Fascination of Marquetry, English Universities Press, London, 1954, p. 9

7 E. Grall, „Tortoiseshell imitations‟ in P. van Duin and H. Piena (eds.), The Meeting of East and West in the

Furniture Trade: Proceedings; Sixth International Symposium on Wood and Furniture Conservation, Stichting

Ebenist, Amsterdam, 2003, p. 26

8 Chastang, p. 16

9 Ramond, p.32

10

Chastang, p.31

11

Chastang, p.19

12

Chastang, p.34

13

B. Ford (ed.), Eighteenth-Century Britain, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1991, referenced by C. D.

Edwards, Eighteenth-Century furniture, Manchester University Press, Manchester and New York, 1996, p. 5

14

Chastang, p.20

15

Chastang, p. 29

16


17 L. de Caunes, L’écaille, Éditions Vial, Dourdan Cedex,1997, p. 12

18


19


20

Caunes, p. 14

21


22

Caunes, p. 17

23

Caunes, p. 27

24

CITES website: <http://www.cites.org/eng/disc/what.shtml> accessed on 30 Jul 2010

25

The Born Free Foundation, Inconvenient But True:The Unrelenting Global Trade in Elephant Ivory, Report

Prepared for the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES, The Hague, 2007, p. 7

43

26 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, Consideration of

Proposals for Amendment of Appendices I and II, Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, Doha,

2010, p. 2

27

The Born Free Foundation, Inconvenient But True:The Unrelenting Global Trade in Elephant Ivory, p. 7

28

A. B. Bolten, K. A. Bjorndal, J. S. Grumbles, D. W. Owens, „Sex Ratio and Sex-Specific Growth Rates of

Immature Green Turtles, Chelonia mydas, in the Southern Bahamas‟, Copeia, vol. 1992, no. 4, 1992, pp. 1098-

1103

29


30


31

S. Rivers and N. Umney, Conservation of Furniture, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, 2003, p. 315

32


33

E. Martin and D. Stiles, Ivory Markets of Europe: A survey in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK,

Care for the Wild International and Save the Elephants, London, 2005, p. 96

34


35

Yannick Chastang, recognized restorer and marquetry furniture maker, Yannick Chastang Limited, Kent,

interviewed 12 Aug 2010

36

Paul Tear MBE, course leader for the BA (Hons) Furniture Conservation, Restoration & Decorative Arts

course, Bucks New University, High Wycombe, interviewed 5 Aug 2010

37

European Union

38


39


40


41


42


43

C. R. Norman-Smith, „Development of Artificial Shell for Boulle Furniture‟, A Thesis for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy, Faculty of Design, Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, Brunel University,

2003, p. 33

44


45


46


47

U. S. Custom and Border Protection website:

<http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg/prohibited_restricted.xml#FishandWildlife> accessed on 14

Aug 2010

48


49

R. Benhamou, „Imitations in the Decorative Arts of the Eighteenth Century‟, Journal of Design History, vol.4,

no. 1, 1991, pp. 1-13

44

50 C. D. Edwards, p. 99

51

R. Vuilleumier, „Werkstoffe der kunstschreinerei. Elfenbein, knochen, horn, perlmutter, fischbein und

fischhaut‟, Maltechnik restauro, vol. 86, no. 2, 1980, pp. 106-123 referenced by E. Grall, „Tortoiseshell

imitations‟, p. 27

52


53

Chastang, p.30

54

Chastang, p.28

55

E. O. Espinoza and M. J. Mann, „The history and significance of the Schreger pattern in proboscidean ivory

characterization‟,pp. 241-48

56

E. O. Espinoza and M. J. Mann, Identification Guide for Ivory and Ivory Substitutes, 2nd

edn, WWF

Publications, Baltimore, 1992, p. 10

57


58

E. O. Espinoza and M. J. Mann, Identification Guide for Ivory and Ivory Substitutes, p. 24

59


60


61

P. Verlet, Les Meubles Français Du Xviii° Siecle, Presses Universitaires de France, Paris Cedex, 1959,

referenced by R. Benhamou, pp. 1-13

62

E. Grall, „Tortoiseshell imitations‟, p. 31

63

Chastang, p. 34

64


65


66

D. C. Williams, „Tortoiseshell and imitation tortoiseshell‟ in in P. van Duin and H. Piena (eds.), The Meeting

of East and West in the Furniture Trade: Proceedings; Sixth International Symposium on Wood and Furniture

Conservation, Stichting Ebenist, Amsterdam, 2003, p. 37

67


68


69


70


71


72


73

Based on site visits to both of these museums

74


75


45

76 K. Z. Gillis and D. P. Curry, „Conservation of an ivory-clad drop-front secretary from Vizigapatam, India‟ in

P. van Duin and H. Piena (eds.), The Meeting of East and West in the Furniture Trade: Proceedings; Sixth

International Symposium on Wood and Furniture Conservation, Stichting Ebenist, Amsterdam, 2003, p. 15

77


78


79

Donald C. Williams, Senior Furniture Conservator, Smithsonian Institution's Centre for Materials Research

and Education, Washington, D.C., interviewed 17 Aug 2010

80


81


82


46

Account of Sources

Bibliography

The Born Free Foundation, Inconvenient But True: The Unrelenting Global Trade in

Elephant Ivory, Report Prepared for the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to

CITES, The Hague, 2007

Caunes, L. de, L’écaille, Éditions Vial, Dourdan Cedex, 1997

Chastang, Y., Paintings in wood: French Marquetry Furniture, The Wallace Collection,

London, 2001

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora,

Consideration of Proposals for Amendment of Appendices I and II, Fifteenth meeting of the

Conference of the Parties, Doha, 2010

Edwards, C. D., Eighteenth-Century furniture, Manchester University Press, Manchester and

New York, 1996

Espinoza E. O. and Mann M. J., Identification Guide for Ivory and Ivory Substitutes, 2nd

edn,

WWF Publications, Baltimore, 1992

Gillis K. Z. and Curry D. P., „Conservation of an ivory-clad drop-front secretary from

Vizigapatam, India‟ in van Duin P. and Piena H., (eds.), The Meeting of East and West in the

Furniture Trade: Proceedings; Sixth International Symposium on Wood and Furniture

Conservation, Stichting Ebenist, Amsterdam, 2003, pp.10-17

Grall E., „Tortoiseshell imitations‟ in van Duin P. and Piena H., (eds.), The Meeting of East

and West in the Furniture Trade: Proceedings; Sixth International Symposium on Wood and

Furniture Conservation, Stichting Ebenist, Amsterdam, 2003, pp. 26-32

Martin, E. and Stiles, D., Ivory Markets of Europe: A survey in France, Germany, Italy,

Spain and the UK, Care for the Wild International and Save the Elephants, London, 2005

Norman-Smith, C. R., Development of Artificial Shell for Boulle Furniture, A Thesis for the

degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, Brunel

University, High Wycombe, 2003

Penny, C., The Fascination of Marquetry, English Universities Press, London, 1954

Ramond, P., Masterpieces of Marquetry: From the Beginnings to Louis XIV, The J. Paul

Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 2000

Rivers S. and Umney, N., Conservation of Furniture, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, 2003

St Aubyn, F. ,(ed.), Ivory: A History and Collector’s Guide, Thames and Hudson Ltd,

London, 1987

47

Williams D. C., „Tortoiseshell and imitation tortoiseshell‟ in van Duin P. and Piena H., (eds.),

The Meeting of East and West in the Furniture Trade: Proceedings; Sixth International

Symposium on Wood and Furniture Conservation, Stichting Ebenist, Amsterdam, 2003, pp.

33-43

Journals

Benhamou R., „Imitations in the Decorative Arts of the Eighteenth Century‟, Journal of

Design History, vol.4, no. 1, 1991, pp. 1-13

Bolten A. B., Bjorndal K. A., Grumbles J. S. and Owens D. W., „Sex Ratio and Sex-Specific

Growth Rates of Immature Green Turtles, Chelonia mydas, in the Southern Bahamas‟,

Copeia, vol. 1992, no. 4, 1992, pp. 1098-1103

Espinoza E. O. and Mann M. J., „The history and significance of the Schreger pattern in

proboscidean ivory characterization‟, Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, vol.

32, no. 3, 1993, pp. 241-48

Websites

CITES <http://www.cites.org/eng/disc/what.shtml> (Accessed on 30 Jul 2010)

CITES <http://www.cites.org/eng/prog/hbt/bg/trade_status.shtml> (Accessed on 2 Aug 2010)

CITES species database <http://sea.unep-wcmc.org/isdb/CITES/Taxonomy/tax-species-

result.cfm?Genus=Caretta&Species=caretta&source=animals&tabname=all> (Accessed on 4

Aug 2010)


result.cfm?Genus=Chelonia&Species=mydas&source=animals> (Accessed on 4 Aug 2010)


result.cfm?Genus=Eretmochelys&Species=imbricata&source=animals&tabname=legal>

(Accessed on 4 Aug 2010)

Tour Egypt <http://www.touregypt.net/museum/tutl58.htm> (Accessed on 4 Aug 2010)

UNEP-WCMC Species Database <http://www.unep-wcmc.org/isdb/Taxonomy/tax-species-

result.cfm?SpeciesNo=7140&tabname=legal> (Accessed on 4 Aug 2010)

UNEP-WCMC Species Database <http://www.unep-wcmc.org/isdb/Taxonomy/tax-species-

result.cfm?SpeciesNo=12392&tabname=references> (Accessed on 4 Aug 2010)

48

CITES trade data dashboards<http://cites-dashboards.unep-wcmc.org/global?id=Mammals>


CITES trade data dashboard http://cites-dashboards.unep-wcmc.org/global?id=Reptiles


My learning < http://www.mylearning.org/image-zoom.asp?picid=3&jpageid=973>


IUCN Red List of Threatened Species < http://www.iucnredlist.org/> (Accessed on 6 Aug

2010)

Roger Hall Scientific Illustration < http://www.inkart.net/art/wildlife_art/> (Accessed on 6

Aug 2010)

Zambales Turtle Conservation Program

<http://environmentalprotectionofasia.com/ztcp/biology/taxomorph.htm> (Accessed on 6

Aug 2010)

Christie‟s Ltd 2009

<http://www.christies.com/features/auctions/0709/7745/index.aspx?h=1#highlights>


The Magazine Antiques <http://www.themagazineantiques.com/news-opinion/farther-

afield/2009-07-27/summer-fare/> (Accessed on 7 Aug 2010)

Bush Warriors < http://bushwarriors.wordpress.com/tag/photography/> (Accessed on 10 Aug

2010)

CITES < http://www.cites.org/eng/com/sc/58/E58-36-1A2.pdf> (Accessed on 10 Aug 2010)

Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des

metiers<http://portail.atilf.fr/cgibin/getobject_?a.144:16./var/artfla/encyclopedie/textdata/IM

AGE/> (Accessed on 10 Aug 2010)

Concrete Jungle <http://www.madeinhalifax.com/concretematerials.htm> (Accessed on 11

Aug 2010)

Ivory Carvings Netsuke & Okimono < http://woolis.com/Ivory.htm > (Accessed 11 on Aug

2010)

U. S. Custom and Border Protection

<http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg/prohibited_restricted.xml#FishandWildlif

e> (Accessed on 14 Aug 2010)

49

Interviews

Mr. Paul Tear MBE

Course leader

BA (Hons) Furniture Conservation, Restoration & Decorative Arts

Bucks New University

Queen Alexandra Road

High Wycombe

Bucks HP11 2JZ

Dr. Campbell Robert Norman-Smith

Course leader

MA Furniture Conservation, Restoration & Decorative Arts

Bucks New University

Queen Alexandra Road

High Wycombe

Bucks HP11 2JZ

Mr. Yannick Chastang

Recognized restorer and marquetry furniture maker

Yannick Chastang Limited

1096 Galley Drive

Sittingbourne Research Centre

Sittingbourne

Kent ME9 8GA

Site Visits

The Victoria and Albert Museum Burghley House

South Kensington Stamford

Cromwell Road Lincolnshire

London SW7 2RL PE9 3JY

(Visited 26 Jun 2010) (Visited 11 Jul 2010)

The Wallace Collection

Hertford House

Manchester Square

London W1U 3BN

(Visited 7 Aug 2010)

50

Correspondence

Donald C. Williams (Senior Furniture Conservator)

Museum Conservation Institute

Smithsonian Institution

Museum Support Center

Suitland MD 20746

USA

Email correspondence 17 Aug 2010

51

Picture credits

Front Page Detail from console table, late 17th

or early 18th

century attributed to attributed

to André-Charles Boulle, from Ramond, P., Masterpieces of Marquetry: From

the Beginnings to Louis XIV, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 2000,

p.24

Figure 1 A 19th

century carved ivory tusk from Nigeria made between 1880 and 1897,

Museums Sheffield, from My learning < http://www.mylearning.org/image-

zoom.asp?picid=3&jpageid=973> (Accessed on 5 Aug 2010)

Figure 2 Area range for African and Asian elephants, made using photos from the

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species < http://www.iucnredlist.org/ >


Figure 3 Area range for sea turtles, from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species <

http://www.iucnredlist.org/ > (Accessed on 6 Aug 2010)

Figure 4 Three species of the sea turtles commonly used for the production of

turtleshell for furniture decoration:1) The Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys

imbricata),2) The Green turtle (Chelonia mydas), 3) The Loggerhead turtle

(Caretta caretta), made using photos from Roger Hall Scientific Illustration <

http://www.inkart.net/art/wildlife_art/> (Accessed on 6 Aug 2010)

Figure 5 Child‟s chair decorated with gold and ivory, found in Tutankhamun‟s tomb,

from Tour Egypt http://www.touregypt.net/museum/tutl58.htm (Accessed on 4

Aug 2010)

Figure 6 Fretsaw, the 18th

century drawing from L‟Art du Menuissier by Jacques-André

Ruobo, from Ramond, P., Masterpieces of Marquetry: From the Beginnings to

Louis XIV, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 2000, p. 37

Figure 7 The Louis XIV cabinet-on-stand from British Collection of about 1680,

attributed to André-Charles Boulle, This extraordinary piece of furniture

embellished with ormolu mounts (1) clearly demonstrates the skill of using

turtleshell (2) in combination with different types of wood (3) and metal (4),

from The Magazine Antiques <http://www.themagazineantiques.com/news-

opinion/farther-afield/2009-07-27/summer-fare/> (Accessed on 7 Aug 2010)

Figure 8 Carapace of the Green turtle (Chelonia mydas), made using photo from

Zambales Turtle Conservation Program

<http://environmentalprotectionofasia.com/ztcp/biology/taxomorph.htm>


Figure 9 Pair of Louis XIV coffres en tombeau, Left: contre-partie and right: première-

partie, attributed to André-Charles Boulle, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, from

Christie‟s Ltd 2009

52

<http://www.christies.com/features/auctions/0709/7745/index.aspx?h=1#highl

ights> (Accessed on 7 Aug 2010)

Figure 10 The 18th

century marquetry donkey, drawing from L‟Art du Menuissier by

Jacques-André Ruobo, from Ramond, P., Masterpieces of Marquetry: From


p. 36

Figure 11 The 18th

century shoulder knife, drawing from L‟Art du Menuissier by

Jacques-André Ruobo, from Ramond, P., Masterpieces of Marquetry: From


p. 12

Figure 12 Cutting a marquetry design on the custom made marquetry donkey, workshops

of Bucks New University, High Wycombe, photo: Ivo Kipre

Figure 13 Principal trade route in 18th

century (green) and trade route used by Portugese

in the 16th

century (red), from Thames and Hudson, Ivory: A History and

Collector’s Guide, Thames and Hudson Ltd, London, 1987, p. 16

Figure 14 Raw turtleshell sheets and traditional tools used, from Caunes, L. de, L’écaille,

Éditions Vial, Dourdan Cedex, 1997, p. 9

Figure 15 Imports of tusks (kg) of taxonomic family Elephantidae from 1989 to 2008,

from CITES trade data dashboards

<http://citesdashboards.unepwcmc.org/global?id=Mammals> (Accessed on 5

Aug 2010)

Figure 16 Ivory seizures between 1989 and 2006, Species Survival Network (SSN), from

CITES < http://www.cites.org/eng/com/sc/58/E58-36-1A2.pdf> (Accessed on

10 Aug 2010)

Figure 17 Ceremonial burning of ivory in Kenya 1995, from Bush Warriors

<http://bushwarriors.wordpress.com/tag/photography/> (Accessed on 10 Aug

2010)

Figure 18 Japanese Customs Statistics of imported Hawksbill turtleshell to Japan

from1950 to 1998, from CITES

<http://www.cites.org/eng/prog/hbt/bg/trade_status.shtml> (Accessed on 2

Aug 2010)

Figure 19 Import of carapaces of Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), Green turtle

(Chelonia mydas) and Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) from 1994 to 2008,

from CITES trade data dashboard http://cites-dashboards.unep-

wcmc.org/global?id=Reptiles (Accessed on 5 Aug 2010)

Figure 20 Tip of Mammoth tusk, from Ivory Carvings Netsuke & Okimono

<http://woolis.com/Ivory.htm > (Accessed 11 Aug 2010)

53

Figure 21 The Tagua palm tree nut, from Concrete Jungle

<http://www.madeinhalifax.com/concretematerials.htm > (Accessed on 11

Aug 2010)

Figure 22 Top: polyester resin, below: genuine ivory, photo: Ivo Kipre

Figure 23 Left: cattle horn, centre: semi transparent sheet of cattle horn, right:

Transparent sheet of cattle horn, photo: Ivo Kipre

Figure 24 Cutting the horn sheet, from Planches de l' encyclopédie by Diderot et

d'Alembert, from Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des

arts et des metiers

<http://portail.atilf.fr/cgibin/getobject_?a.144:16./var/artfla/encyclopedie/textd

ata/IMAGE/> (Accessed on 10 Aug 2010)

Figure 25 Restoration treatment using shellac based artificial turtleshell on 19th

century

card table, a student project at Bucks New University in High Wycombe,

photo: Ivo Kipre

Figure 26 Filling the gaps using red colour wax filler on 19th

century card table, a student

project at Bucks New University in High Wycombe, photo: Ivo Kipre

Figure 27 Examples of common artificial turtleshell material, photo: Ivo Kipre

54

Appendix I

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

of Wild Fauna and Flora

Signed at Washington, D.C., on 3 March 1973

Amended at Bonn, on 22 June 1979

Articles: I, II. III. IV, V, VI

Article I

Definitions

For the purpose of the present Convention, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "Species" means any species, subspecies, or geographically separate population thereof;

(b) "Specimen" means:

(i) any animal or plant, whether alive or dead;

(ii) in the case of an animal: for species included in Appendices I and II, any readily

recognizable part or derivative thereof; and for species included in Appendix III, any readily

recognizable part or derivative thereof specified in Appendix III in relation to the species; and

(iii) in the case of a plant: for species included in Appendix I, any readily recognizable part or

derivative thereof; and for species included in Appendices II and III, any readily recognizable

part or derivative thereof specified in Appendices II and III in relation to the species;

(c) "Trade" means export, re-export, import and introduction from the sea;

(d) "Re-export" means export of any specimen that has previously been imported;

(e) "Introduction from the sea" means transportation into a State of specimens of any species

which were taken in the marine environment not under the jurisdiction of any State;

(f) "Scientific Authority" means a national scientific authority designated in accordance with

Article IX;

(g) "Management Authority" means a national management authority designated in

accordance with Article IX;

(h) "Party" means a State for which the present Convention has entered into force.

55

Article II

Fundamental Principles

1. Appendix I shall include all species threatened with extinction which are or may be

affected by trade. Trade in specimens of these species must be subject to particularly strict

regulation in order not to endanger further their survival and must only be authorized in

exceptional circumstances.

2. Appendix II shall include:

(a) all species which although not necessarily now threatened with extinction may become so

unless trade in specimens of such species is subject to strict regulation in order to avoid

utilization incompatible with their survival; and

(b) other species which must be subject to regulation in order that trade in specimens of

certain species referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph may be brought under

effective control.

3. Appendix III shall include all species which any Party identifies as being subject to

regulation within its jurisdiction for the purpose of preventing or restricting exploitation, and

as needing the co-operation of other Parties in the control of trade.

4. The Parties shall not allow trade in specimens of species included in Appendices I, II and

III except in accordance with the provisions of the present Convention.

Article III

Regulation of Trade in Specimens of Species Included in Appendix I

1. All trade in specimens of species included in Appendix I shall be in accordance with the

provisions of this Article.

2. The export of any specimen of a species included in Appendix I shall require the prior

grant and presentation of an export permit. An export permit shall only be granted when the

following conditions have been met:

(a) a Scientific Authority of the State of export has advised that such export will not be

detrimental to the survival of that species;

(b) a Management Authority of the State of export is satisfied that the specimen was not

obtained in contravention of the laws of that State for the protection of fauna and flora;

(c) a Management Authority of the State of export is satisfied that any living specimen will

be so prepared and shipped as to minimize the risk of injury, damage to health or cruel

treatment; and

56

(d) a Management Authority of the State of export is satisfied that an import permit has been

granted for the specimen.

3. The import of any specimen of a species included in Appendix I shall require the prior

grant and presentation of an import permit and either an export permit or a re-export

certificate. An import permit shall only be granted when the following conditions have been

met:

(a) a Scientific Authority of the State of import has advised that the import will be for

purposes which are not detrimental to the survival of the species involved;

(b) a Scientific Authority of the State of import is satisfied that the proposed recipient of a

living specimen is suitably equipped to house and care for it; and

(c) a Management Authority of the State of import is satisfied that the specimen is not to be

used for primarily commercial purposes.

4. The re-export of any specimen of a species included in Appendix I shall require the prior

grant and presentation of a re-export certificate. A re-export certificate shall only be granted

when the following conditions have been met:

(a) a Management Authority of the State of re-export is satisfied that the specimen was

imported into that State in accordance with the provisions of the present Convention;

(b) a Management Authority of the State of re-export is satisfied that any living specimen

will be so prepared and shipped as to minimize the risk of injury, damage to health or cruel

treatment; and

(c) a Management Authority of the State of re-export is satisfied that an import permit has

been granted for any living specimen.

5. The introduction from the sea of any specimen of a species included in Appendix I shall

require the prior grant of a certificate from a Management Authority of the State of

introduction. A certificate shall only be granted when the following conditions have been

met:

(a) a Scientific Authority of the State of introduction advises that the introduction will not be

detrimental to the survival of the species involved;

(b) a Management Authority of the State of introduction is satisfied that the proposed

recipient of a living specimen is suitably equipped to house and care for it; and

(c) a Management Authority of the State of introduction is satisfied that the specimen is not

to be used for primarily commercial purposes.

Article IV

Regulation of Trade in Specimens of Species Included in Appendix II

57

1. All trade in specimens of species included in Appendix II shall be in accordance with the


2. The export of any specimen of a species included in Appendix II shall require the prior

grant and presentation of an export permit. An export permit shall only be granted when the

following conditions have been met:

(a) a Scientific Authority of the State of export has advised that such export will not be

detrimental to the survival of that species;

(b) a Management Authority of the State of export is satisfied that the specimen was not

obtained in contravention of the laws of that State for the protection of fauna and flora; and

(c) a Management Authority of the State of export is satisfied that any living specimen will


treatment.

3. A Scientific Authority in each Party shall monitor both the export permits granted by that

State for specimens of species included in Appendix II and the actual exports of such

specimens. Whenever a Scientific Authority determines that the export of specimens of any

such species should be limited in order to maintain that species throughout its range at a level

consistent with its role in the ecosystems in which it occurs and well above the level at which

that species might become eligible for inclusion in Appendix I, the Scientific Authority shall

advise the appropriate Management Authority of suitable measures to be taken to limit the

grant of export permits for specimens of that species.

4. The import of any specimen of a species included in Appendix II shall require the prior

presentation of either an export permit or a re-export certificate.

5. The re-export of any specimen of a species included in Appendix II shall require the prior

grant and presentation of a re-export certificate. A re-export certificate shall only be granted

when the following conditions have been met:

(a) a Management Authority of the State of re-export is satisfied that the specimen was

imported into that State in accordance with the provisions of the present Convention; and

(b) a Management Authority of the State of re-export is satisfied that any living specimen

will be so prepared and shipped as to minimize the risk of injury, damage to health or cruel

treatment.

6. The introduction from the sea of any specimen of a species included in Appendix II shall

require the prior grant of a certificate from a Management Authority of the State of

introduction. A certificate shall only be granted when the following conditions have been

met:

(a) a Scientific Authority of the State of introduction advises that the introduction will not be

detrimental to the survival of the species involved; and

(b) a Management Authority of the State of introduction is satisfied that any living specimen

will be so handled as to minimize the risk of injury, damage to health or cruel treatment.

58

7. Certificates referred to in paragraph 6 of this Article may be granted on the advice of a

Scientific Authority, in consultation with other national scientific authorities or, when

appropriate, international scientific authorities, in respect of periods not exceeding one year

for total numbers of specimens to be introduced in such periods.

Article V

Regulation of Trade in Specimens of Species Included in Appendix III

1. All trade in specimens of species included in Appendix III shall be in accordance with the


2. The export of any specimen of a species included in Appendix III from any State which

has included that species in Appendix III shall require the prior grant and presentation of an

export permit. An export permit shall only be granted when the following conditions have

been met:

(a) a Management Authority of the State of export is satisfied that the specimen was not

obtained in contravention of the laws of that State for the protection of fauna and flora; and

(b) a Management Authority of the State of export is satisfied that any living specimen will


treatment.

3. The import of any specimen of a species included in Appendix III shall require, except in

circumstances to which paragraph 4 of this Article applies, the prior presentation of a

certificate of origin and, where the import is from a State which has included that species in

Appendix III, an export permit.

4. In the case of re-export, a certificate granted by the Management Authority of the State of

re-export that the specimen was processed in that State or is being re-exported shall be

accepted by the State of import as evidence that the provisions of the present Convention

have been complied with in respect of the specimen concerned.

Article VI

Permits and Certificates 1. Permits and certificates granted under the provisions of Articles III, IV, and V shall be in

accordance with the provisions of this Article.

2. An export permit shall contain the information specified in the model set forth in Appendix

IV, and may only be used for export within a period of six months from the date on which it

was granted.

59

3. Each permit or certificate shall contain the title of the present Convention, the name and

any identifying stamp of the Management Authority granting it and a control number

assigned by the Management Authority.

4. Any copies of a permit or certificate issued by a Management Authority shall be clearly

marked as copies only and no such copy may be used in place of the original, except to the

extent endorsed thereon.

5. A separate permit or certificate shall be required for each consignment of specimens.

6. A Management Authority of the State of import of any specimen shall cancel and retain the

export permit or re-export certificate and any corresponding import permit presented in

respect of the import of that specimen.

7. Where appropriate and feasible a Management Authority may affix a mark upon any

specimen to assist in identifying the specimen. For these purposes "mark" means any

indelible imprint, lead seal or other suitable means of identifying a specimen, designed in

such a way as to render its imitation by unauthorized persons as difficult as possible.

60

Appendix II

Recipe for making turtleshell using horn

From: Grall E., „Tortoiseshell imitations‟ in van Duin P. and Piena H., (eds.), The Meeting of

East and West in the Furniture Trade: Proceedings; Sixth International Symposium on Wood

and Furniture Conservation

We have said that horn may be lined with painted sheet as described by Ruobo; yet it is also

possible to create blackish markings that imitate the tortoiseshell pigmentation, producing a

perfect illusion. These markings are made using a paste, which reacts with the sulphur in horn

to form lead sulphide.

This is the recipe:

1. Prepare the horn with care. Choose a light-coloured, transparent sheet, the horn

should be colourless or slightly yellow, but not greenish. Sand the veneer to the

desired thickness and then polish.

2. Next, prepare the colorant paste using two parts quicklime, one part lead oxide

(yellow or red are equally good) and a few drops of potassium carbonate. Slake the

lime with water to form a paste and then add the lead oxide and potassium carbonate.

3. Spread thick layers of the paste on the area of the horn where markings are to be

created. Leave the mixture in place for 30 minutes to 3 hours, depending on the

desired colour. To prevent the paste from drying out, cover with plastic film.

4. Remove the paste by brushing and rinse with water, then place the horn between

newspapers and press to dry.

The coloured markings will penetrate deeply into the horn and are indelible.

61

Appendix III

Imitation of turtleshell by Donald C. Williams

From: Williams D. C., „Tortoiseshell and imitation tortoiseshell‟ in van Duin P. and Piena H.,

(eds.), The Meeting of East and West in the Furniture Trade: Proceedings; Sixth

International Symposium on Wood and Furniture Conservation

The general formulation and process for creating imitation tortoiseshell in this manner is to

employ collagen in the form of granulated hide glue as the fundamental material component,

with some portion of miscible plasticiser as an anti-fracture additive, and a minute amount of

either internal or external cross-linking agent to harden or cross-link the material to a partly

thermoset state. This document will describe only three general option from nearly endless

number of variations possible for accomplishing imitation tortoiseshell.

Option I

1. Prepare the basic material through the use of 100 parts granulated hide glue and 10

parts water-soluble plasticiser (such as glycerine, sorbitol or low-molecular-weight

polyvinyl alcohol resin) by soaking in water for at least twelve hours, followed by

another twelve hours of cooking at 125-140 degrees Fahrenheit

2. When this hot glue solution is ready, add approximately 1 part of internal cross-

linking agent.

3. Cast out this hot solution onto an acetate or mylar sheet to a thickness of

approximately 2 millimetres.

4. When the hot solution begins to gel, immediately introduce the mottled tortoiseshell

pattern with water-soluble or water-compatible colorants, using artists‟ brushes, air

brushes or other tools appropriate to the task. With a practiced hand working wet-into-

wet, a minute degree of colorant diffusion will be achieved.

5. As soon as the colorant pattern has begun to dry and no longer flows of its own

accord, cast a second hot glue lamina of a similar thickness, directly on top of the

pattern to complete the laminar structure of the imitation tortoiseshell. Step 3 through

5 may be repeated and varied as often as necessary to achieve the desired thickness

and number of laminae of the manufactured imitation shell.

At this point the creation of the raw material is complete, requiring only air drying.

Only further manipulation by heat and moisture, or tools and other craft or

manufactured processes identical to those employed for working on genuine

tortoiseshell, are required to complete the application for the end use of the imitation

tortoiseshell.

62

Option II

1) Prepare the basic material through the use of 100 parts granulated hide glue and 10


polyvinyl alcohol resin) by soaking in water by at least twelve hours, followed by

another twelve hours of cooking at 125-140 degrees Fahrenheit.

2) When this hot glue solution is ready, add approximately 1 part of internal cross-

linking agent.

3) Cast out this hot solution onto a very fine denier nylon fabric (or similar) on a mylar

sheet to a thickness of approximately 0.5 millimetres.

4) Once this sheet has dried sufficiently, it may serve as a foundation for printing a

scanned image of the mottled tortoiseshell pattern with an inkjet printer or other

printing technology employing water-soluble or water-compatible ink

5) The printed sheet may then be placed on an acetate sheet and the hot glue solution

cast over it to a thickness of approximately 2 or 3 millimetres.

6) As soon as the cast film gels and no longer flows of its own accord, flip the printed

sheet to the verso, and cast a second hot glue lamina on top of the pattern to complete

the laminar structure of the imitation tortoiseshell.

At this point the creation of the raw material is complete, requiring only air drying.

Only further manipulation by heat and moisture, or tools and other craft or

manufactured processes identical to those employed for working on genuine

tortoiseshell, are required to complete the application for the end use of the imitation

tortoiseshell.

Option III

1) Prepare the basic material through the use of 100 parts granulated hide glue and 10


polyvinyl alcohol resin) by soaking in water by at least twelve hours, followed by

another twelve hours of cooking at 125-140 degrees Fahrenheit.

2) When this hot glue solution is ready, cast out this hot solution onto an acetate or

mylar sheet to a thickness of approximately 2 millimetres.

3) When the hot solution begins to gel, immediately introduce mottled tortoiseshell

pattern with water-soluble or water-compatible colorants, using artists brushes, air

brushes, or other tool appropriate to the task.

4) As soon as the colorant pattern has begun to dry and no longer flows of its own

accord, cast a second hot glue lamina of a similar thickness, directly on top of the

pattern, to complete the laminar structure of the imitation tortoiseshell. Step 3 through

63

5 may be repeated and varied as often as necessary to achieve the desired thickness

and number of laminae of the manufactured imitation shell.

5) When the laminar film has dried to hard, hand-leable condition, immerse for a couple

minutes in a bath of protein fixatives to cross-link the collagen. This may be

accomplished by employing either commercial leather tanning chemicals or mixtures

such as those described in patent or technical literature pertaining to the hardening of

photographic gelatine or the making of waterproof glues, or similar.

64

Appendix IV

Correspondence with Donald C. Williams

Senior Furniture Conservator

Museum Conservation Institute

Smithsonian Institution

Museum Support Center

Suitland MD 20746

USA

Is it ethical to use materials from endangered species in restoration of 18th century

furniture?

That is essentially a theological or even whimsical question. If we were to rephrase the

question, “Is it ethical to currently harvest endangered species to provide materials for

restoration?” the answer is ethically , “No,” “ethics” being a statement of behavioural

preferences for a set of circumstances in a particular time and place based on any number of

dynamic inputs. Perhaps a larger question might be, “Is the arbitrary protection of

„endangered species‟ a rational political expression?” Personally I have my doubts on both

philosophical and utilitarian perspectives.

If the original question is rephrased to read, “Is it ethical to utilize already existing materials

from previously deceased endangered species for restoration?” I personally have no

difficulty in utilizing per-existing materials from almost any source for restoration in this

context. I have a drawer full of vintage ivory piano keys and use them with impunity. I have

bags of vintage ivory which I also use.

What is your opinion on US government law on ivory and tortoiseshell and 100 year rule?

Personally I am opposed to the law. I am certain that the Smithsonian Institution (my

employer) is in favour of the law. My own perspective leans toward the private marketplace

to resolve these controversies based on the maximum expansion of private property rights,

about which I am personally a near- absolutist. Anderson and Leal wrote a thought

provoking book on environmentalism about twenty years ago, which included a discussion of

elephant ivory.

In short, where elephants are property, there are plenty of them. Where elephants are a

“natural treasure” their population has been almost eradicated.

Admittedly sea turtles are a challenging problem for domestication, but that is a utilitarian

problem, not a philosophical hurdle.

In general I find most political policies related to the environment, including species, to be

irrational silliness. Again, my employers are strident opponents to my personal view.

65

Do you use genuine ivory and tortoiseshell when restoring and is there any "legal" ivory

and turtleshell on the USA market?

Yes, I use both genuine tortoiseshell and my artificial tortoiseshell in restoration, although I

use much more of my artificial material.

I use genuine ivory exclusively when restoring ivory.

Yes, there is an excellent source for legal genuine ivory in the US, David Warther in Ohio

whose web site is www.ivorybuyer.com.

My reputation result in people sending me scraps of genuine tortoiseshell occasionally, and I

have a small box of same.

What alternative material do you use when restoring missing pieces of ivory?

Given the availability of genuine ivory, that is the material I use. If I had to use something

else, I might use some vintage celluloid in good condition, or prepare some holly or box

wood for that use.

Bloody Delight Is it Ethical to Use Material from Endangered Species in the Restoration of 18th...

Documents

Transcript of Bloody Delight Is it Ethical to Use Material from Endangered Species in the Restoration of 18th...