PREHISTORIC AND ANCIENT CARVED IVORIES
The employment
of ivory in the production of ornamental objects dates back to the very
earliest times. In the cave dwellings of Le Moustier and La Madeleine
in the Dordogne, France, and in the lake dwellings of Switzerland, some
ivory objects and many of reindeer horn, carved and incised with a
remarkable degree of artistic skill, have been discovered. The ivory
used ornamentally at this remote period almost certainly came from dead
animals, as does a very considerable part of the African ivory imported
to-day. This easier means of obtaining it was undoubtedly then as now a
great factor, and while the specimens preserved for us do not offer any
special indications as to the reasons governing The choice of this
material, we may well suppose that not only its rich-toned, smooth
surface, but also the graceful curve of the tusks were determining
considerations. More especially the latter must have appealed to the
instinctive appreciation of primitive man for what Hogarth has called
the "line of beauty," and this is manifest in the fondness of most
primitive peoples for curved horns of various kinds as objects upon
which to bestow their skill, much or little, in ornamental design. We
must always bear in mind, however, that what we are pleased to call
"primitive man," when he had reached the rudimentary civilization of
the cave and lake dwellers of France and Switzerland, had advanced,
qualita-
3
