中國(guó)牙雕的象牙雕刻藝術(shù)有著極其悠久的歷史，始于新石器時(shí)代。在北京黃土坡出土的戰(zhàn)國(guó)墓中發(fā)現(xiàn)過(guò)象牙梳子。遼、金、元、明、清歷代帝王都把象牙作為皇家供品，明代的果園廠和清代的造辦處都有為皇宮做象牙制品的作坊，其中最具代表的是象牙名作'月曼清游'。
The ivory carving art of Chinese ivory carving has a very long history, starting from the Neolithic age. Ivory combs have been found in the tombs of the Warring States period unearthed in Huangtupo, Beijing. The emperors of Liao, Jin, yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties all used Ivory as their royal offerings. The orchards of Ming Dynasty and the offices of Qing Dynasty all had workshops for making ivory products for the Imperial Palace, among which the most representative was the famous ivory work "Yue Man Qing you".
中國(guó)象牙雕刻經(jīng)過(guò)數(shù)幾千年的發(fā)展，清代中期陸續(xù)形成了若干個(gè)相對(duì)集中的中心生產(chǎn)地，主要以廣州、蘇州、北京為代表。各個(gè)中心生產(chǎn)地之間既在題材和形式上保持著各地的風(fēng)格特色，同時(shí)又互相滲透，在技術(shù)上有交流。20世紀(jì)70年代后，隨著交通便捷，訊息技術(shù)的發(fā)展，各地牙雕藝人頻繁交往，切磋技藝，取長(zhǎng)補(bǔ)短，各地區(qū)的地方牙雕的色彩，一方面在增加，形成了北京、廣州、上海、南京四個(gè)主要地區(qū)，其他還有天津、福州、樂(lè)清等地，另一方面他們之間的風(fēng)格也逐漸的淡化，這是一個(gè)必然的趨勢(shì)。精細(xì)工整，玲瓏剔透的廣州牙雕以廣州為代表，故稱(chēng)之廣州牙雕，北京牙雕具有了雍容華貴的宮廷藝術(shù)品格。
After thousands of years of development, China's ivory carving in the middle of the Qing Dynasty has formed several relatively concentrated production centers, mainly represented by Guangzhou, Suzhou and Beijing. The production places of each center not only maintain the style and characteristics of each place in subject matter and form, but also permeate each other and have exchanges in technology. After the 1970s, with the development of convenient transportation and information technology, ivory carving artists from all over the world frequently exchanged skills and learned from each other to make up for each other's shortcomings. On the one hand, the color of local ivory carving in various regions increased, forming four major regions: Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Nanjing. On the other hand, Tianjin, Fuzhou, Yueqing and other places, and on the other hand, their styles gradually weakened, This is an inevitable trend. Guangzhou is the representative of the fine, neat and exquisitely carved teeth in Guangzhou, so it's called Guangzhou tooth carving. Beijing tooth carving has the elegant palace artistic character.
牙雕是一門(mén)古老的傳統(tǒng)藝術(shù)，也是一門(mén)漢族民間工藝美術(shù)。牙為大象身上最堅(jiān)固的部分，其光潔如玉、耐用、珍貴勘與寶玉石媲美，因此象牙又有有機(jī)寶石之美譽(yù)。而象牙雕刻藝術(shù)品，以堅(jiān)實(shí)細(xì)密，色澤柔潤(rùn)光滑的質(zhì)地，精美的雕刻藝術(shù)，倍受收藏家珍愛(ài)，成為古玩中獨(dú)具特色的品種之一。
Tooth carving is an ancient traditional art, but also a Han folk arts and crafts. The tooth is the most solid part of the elephant. It is as bright and clean as jade, durable and precious as gemstone. Therefore, ivory is also known as an organic gem. The ivory carving art, with its solid and fine texture, soft and smooth color and exquisite carving art, is cherished by collectors and becomes one of the unique varieties of antiques.
清代，是牙雕工藝的鼎盛時(shí)代，牙雕與竹、木、角、金石等小件雕刻一樣，成為幾案上陳設(shè)珍玩。清代前朝，象牙雕刻繼承了明代的傳統(tǒng)，不論在生產(chǎn)技術(shù)或藝術(shù)創(chuàng)造方面，都有所發(fā)展。中期以后，象牙雕刻藝術(shù)創(chuàng)作方面走向了繁瑣堆飾。當(dāng)時(shí)，象牙雕刻分宮廷手工藝與民間手工藝兩類(lèi)，宮廷制作者精工細(xì)膩，人物、花鳥(niǎo)紋飾多仿繪畫(huà)筆意，著色、填彩均有一定的章法。雖然如此，但兩者是沒(méi)有絕對(duì)區(qū)別的，許多宮廷牙匠都是從民間直接招募的。清代的象牙雕刻已基本形成江南與廣東兩大藝術(shù)流派。由于文人雅士的偏愛(ài)，立意清新典雅的作品出現(xiàn)了，為了獲得好的作品，一大批文人畫(huà)家不僅設(shè)計(jì)構(gòu)圖，還直接參與雕刻，使牙雕的風(fēng)格出新的變化。
In the Qing Dynasty, it was the heyday of the art of ivory carving. Like bamboo, wood, horn, gold stone and other small sculptures, ivory carving became a rare display on several cases. Before the Qing Dynasty, ivory carving inherited the tradition of the Ming Dynasty, and developed in both production technology and artistic creation. After the mid-term, the ivory carving art creation went to the tedious heap decoration. At that time, ivory carving was divided into two categories: Palace crafts and folk crafts. The court makers were exquisite and exquisite, and the figures, flowers and birds were mostly imitated by the brushwork of painting. There were certain rules for coloring and filling colors. However, there is no absolute difference between the two. Many court dental workers are directly recruited from the people. The ivory carving in Qing Dynasty has basically formed two major art schools in Jiangnan and Guangdong. Due to the preference of literati, fresh and elegant works appeared. In order to obtain good works, a large number of literati painters not only design and composition, but also directly participate in carving, making the style of ivory carving change.
總體而言，象牙雕刻發(fā)展至清代，已逐步向'小品雕刻'的趨勢(shì)發(fā)展，大件牙雕已不常見(jiàn)。文房用具理所當(dāng)然地成了牙雕工藝的主要部分。主要以文玩、裝飾品為主，筆筒、筆架、硯臺(tái)、墨盒、水墨、鎮(zhèn)紙以及一些文具盒、印盒、畫(huà)托等都比較常見(jiàn)，這些象牙小件多以文人故事、花鳥(niǎo)圖案，吉祥題材為裝飾，有著濃郁的文人氣息。象牙雕刻成為文人士大夫以及官宦貴員的案頭把玩。
Generally speaking, ivory carving developed into the Qing Dynasty, and has gradually developed into the trend of 'small carving', while large ivory carving is not common. Of course, the stationery has become the main part of the ivory carving process. Mainly for literary games and decorations, pen holder, pen holder, inkstone, ink cartridge, ink wash, Paperweight, and some stationery boxes, printing boxes, picture holders, etc. are common. These Ivory small pieces are mostly decorated with literati stories, flowers and birds patterns, auspicious themes, and have a strong literati flavor. Ivory carving became a desk game for literati and officials.
從古至今，牙雕就是人們公認(rèn)的高檔奢侈品。早在遠(yuǎn)古時(shí)代，牙角就被人類(lèi)用來(lái)制成各種簡(jiǎn)單的飾品來(lái)美化自己。此后，隨著人類(lèi)生活水平的不斷提高，牙雕的形制和用途也發(fā)生了根本變化。到了明清兩代，象牙雕更是精品迭出，其中尤以乾隆年間的牙雕最興盛，此件可以說(shuō)是清代牙雕的巔峰作品了。
Since ancient times, ivory carving has been recognized as a luxury. As early as in ancient times, the tooth horn was used by human beings to make various simple ornaments to beautify themselves. Since then, with the continuous improvement of human living standards, the shape and use of ivory carvings have also undergone fundamental changes. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, ivory carvings were more excellent, especially in the Qianlong period. This is the peak work of the Qing Dynasty.
