IVORY IMAGES

MORPHOLOGY, CONSERVATION, CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE AND TYPOLOGIES

Abstract

This study presents an approach to religious imagery in ivory, works with a strong presence in
spaces colonized by the Portuguese Colonial Empire, fruits of the process of miscegenation and
cultural transit. These artifacts are studied here in their material and technical characteristics,
proposing an initial systematization of their typologies, expanding the understanding of a theme
that still leaves us with significant questions. The formal and stylistic attributes of the imagery
engraved in ivory are directly conditioned to the possibilities of workability that this specific
raw material makes possible, producing models of representation with very characteristic
solutions, influencing the elaboration of the pieces, their dimensions, resistance and
ornamentation. The degradation process of this material is briefly discussed, pointing out how
inappropriate conditions, in addition to its own nature, interfere with its conservation.