[BCMA] Question regarding Ivory items

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv]

Hello all.

A long while back I had read (or watched) a report on the legality of museums holding or accepting artefacts made with ivory.

Are there any set requirements, registration, legalities, or thoughts regarding ivory in our collections?

In question we have a large case which belonged to the wife of a British General during the Boer War (Second African War 1899-1902).  It is her personal grooming case with silver brushes, combs, and various silver/glass bottles of cosmetics, powders, and perfumes.  There are some hand curlers which we suspect are ivory as well as the handles of the other grooming tools (brushes, combs, dice, etc.).

We have to assume that these are ivory because of the woman’s status, the role her husband had in the late 1800s in India’s Colonialism, and what we suspect is not a “crocodile imprinted bovine leather” covering on the case itself.

We could easily just ignore the material that we suspect these items are and play dumb, but we want to be sure we are treating these items appropriately regarding the legality or ethical aspect of these artefacts for the future.

Thanks for any advice...


at your service,


Lewis Bartholomew
Founder & Executive Director

mrbarth at alberniproject.org

MUSEUM ADDRESS:
HMCS ALBERNI Museum and Memorial
MUSÉE DU NCSM ALBERNI
5-625 Cliffe Avenue
Courtenay BC
250-897-4611


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