page_title: Sri Lankan ivories
section_title: Creation
hierarchical_section_title: Sri Lankan ivories / Creation
caption_attribution_description: Sri Lanka (Kandy district); Fan handle and finial; Ivories
context_page_description: Ivory carving is one of the traditional industries of Sri Lanka. The country's ivory carving industry has a very long history, but its origin is not yet fully understood. During the Kingdom of Kandy, ivory art became very popular and reached at its zenith. These delicate ivory works represent how Sri Lankan craftsmen mastered in this technique.
context_section_description: Ivory carving technique consists of two main steps: the turning and carving.
  During the turning, ivory is cut using a saw and shaped using a turning lathe (pattalaya). A simple wood lathe is used. Then it is softened by using various plant saps. Then carving is done. Tools like saw, drill, rasp, vice and chisel are used in this step. Later the object is polished using alum. If there are any holes in the object, they are filled up with lac and decorated. Ultimately natural pigments like red, yellow and black together with minerals and adhesive compounds are used to get the end quality of the item.
  Bangles, fan handles, caskets, knife hilts, combs, boxes, trumpets, earrings, door frames, decorative plates and sports equipment were produced using ivory. Buddha statues and human figures were also produced.
caption: Ivory fan handle, 18th century AD. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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