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Bone carving

arts Maturity 11-13 Next article →

People make art from animal bones. They also use antlers and horns. This is called bone carving.

Lilleberge Plaque (BM)
Lilleberge Plaque (BM)

Artists can carve shapes into the bone. They can also paint it. Some people make small objects. Others make thin plaques, which are flat pieces.

Roman Bone Carving
Roman Bone Carving

Bone is not as hard as ivory. It does not shine like ivory does. This makes it hard to do very fine work. Because of this, most bone art is flat. It is not often made into big statues.

Many cultures have used bone for a long time. It was very important in prehistoric art. People made things like the Swimming Reindeer from antler.

Alaska Grasendes Karibu c1910 Linden-Museum
Alaska Grasendes Karibu c1910 Linden-Museum

Some people used whale bones for art too. This is often called scrimshaw. In the Middle Ages, workers made small boxes called caskets. They used thin bone plaques to decorate them.

Bone carving is very old. Scientists found a piece made by Neanderthals. It is about 51,000 years old. This is one of the oldest works of art in the world.

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🖼️ Images & Media (3)
File:Lilleberge Plaque (BM).JPG
Lilleberge Plaque (BM).JPG
File:Alaska Grasendes Karibu c1910 Linden-Museum.jpg
Alaska Grasendes Karibu c1910 Linden-Museum.jpg
File:Roman Bone Carving.jpg
Roman Bone Carving.jpg
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