Carving steadily being resurrected as an art form

In 2009, Guo Chen became the first employee recruited by the Beijing Ivory Carving Factory in more than 20 years.

The factory, as well as 35 others of its kind across the country, had almost closed down since the international ivory trade ban in 1989.

A 24-year-old college graduate who majored in Western sculpture, Guo said he never thought he would one day earn a living by carving ivory, but he has found it a rewarding career.

"Turning elephant tusks into art gives me a strong sense of achievement," he said. "I see the piece as a respectful continuation of the elephant's life."

In 2009, the year Guo graduated from Beijing University of Technology, China legally imported 62 metric tons of ivory in a one-off sale from four African countries - South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe - brokered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, commonly known as CITES.

With new material stocked in the warehouse, the ivory factory resumed its program of recruiting apprentices. Guo was one of eight newcomers. Before they arrived, there were only five skilled carvers in the factory's workshop, three of whom had passed the age of retirement.

"I was deeply fascinated by the exquisite art the first time I saw it," Guo said, adding that, for him, carving ivory is a big challenge as the skill required is very different from what he learned in school.

The art is unique, said Luan Yanjun, 57, who is retired but still mentors apprentices at the factory.

In addition to common techniques such as single-line intaglio carving, round carving, relief carving and micro-carving, there are three other unique skills, he said: Fretwork, cleaving-plaiting and inlaying-dyeing.

It takes on average three years of apprenticeship to learn, he added.

Luan started his apprenticeship at 17. He said that only through practice can one become a master. But after 1989, chances to practice were limited because the stockpiles of tusks ran down, and artists like Luan found their skills getting rusty.

Because of the unique skills of ivory carving and the loss of skilled carvers, ivory carving was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2007.

With 40 years' experience in the business, Luan said ivory carving has long been part of Chinese culture - it used to be a tradition in the royal families thousands of years ago.

Luan disputes accusations that the carvers are indifferent to the fate of the endangered animals in Africa.

"This ancient art never intended to harm elephants. We care (about endangered species), too," he said.

"If elephants become extinct, we will have no material to carve, and I'll be jobless again."

Even though the factory now has resources, it has to use them frugally because the quota of tusks it is assigned is small. "Every year, we can use only 629 kg, no more and no less," manager Xiao Guangyi said.

To conserve the ivory, beginners practice only on wood, he said.

The factory has also developed a way of engraving on rotted tusks. Luan pointed at a piece of work depicting a lotus flower with raindrops on the leaves. "The corrosion and fissure were in exactly the right place for a lotus," he said.