Is it still permitted to buy or sell ivory jewellery today?

Only under strict conditions. The CITES convention (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, 1973) largely prohibits trade in modern elephant ivory. In the EU an antiques exemption applies: pieces demonstrably made before 1947 may be traded with proof (a pre-1947 certificate). Pieces dating from between 1947 and 1990 require an EU certificate. Mammoth ivory (from Arctic finds) is unprotected and freely tradable - an important legal alternative for restoration and collection contexts.

What are Schreger lines?

Characteristic patterns of intersecting lines that become visible in the cross-section of elephant and mammoth tusks. They arise from the radial dentine tubules and distinguish ivory unambiguously from bone, antler or plastic imitations. In elephant ivory the Schreger angles are above 115°, in mammoth below - a forensically reliable distinction that is used in CITES assessments.

What was ivory used for in mourning jewellery?

Three dominant applications. Memento mori carvings - small skull pendants, little skeleton figures, miniature coffins with a sliding lid (see Memento mori). Miniature portraits - as the support material for painted portraits on the front of mourning pendants and lockets. Ivory was readily chosen as a picture support because its fine surface allowed very precise watercolour miniatures to be applied. Light counterparts to black mourning materials - small ivory accents in contrast to jet or black enamel pieces, frequently in half-mourning.

Ivory

From the 17th to the 19th century ivory was an important material for memento mori carvings, carved mourning pendants and miniature portraits in pendant mounts - today its use is strictly regulated worldwide by the CITES convention on the protection of species, and the market is shifting to historical pieces and substitute materials such as mammoth ivory or tagua nut.

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