Ivory (French ivoire; Italian avorio; Latin ebur), dentine, the
tusks of the elephant, hippopotamus, walrus, and other animals:
a tough and elastic substance, of a creamy white, taking a high
and lasting polish, largely employed in the arts since pre-
historic times, and used extensively in making or adorning
ecclesiastical objects by the primitive and medieval Christians.
In the museums of Europe there are examples of pre-historic
incised and carved ivories, and also many specimens of Egyptian,
Assyrian, Greek, and Roman bas-reliefs, statues, diptychs,
plaques, and caskets. The classical authors frequently allude to
ivory, and the Old Testament terms with references to its
employment, even using its attributes as poetic qualifications,
in the same way as the church does today in the Litany of
Loretto ("Tower of ivory"). As soon as the Christians were free
to display the symbols of their faith and illustrate its history
pictorially, they adopted the art then in vogue for this
purpose, and among their first æst