Dating ivory will be tough act, says heritage experts

AP FILE PHOTO

CEBU CITY, Philippines—Running after newly acquired ivory pieces will not be a walk in the park for the authorities, according to heritage experts.

For one, the investigation team created by the Department of Environment and Natural Resouces and the National Bureau of Investigation will have to know the age of the ivory pieces to determine if these were  acquired before bringing ivory into the country was banned in 1981, after the Philippines signed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

But the age of  ivory cannot be determined by its mere appearance, according to Louie Nacorda, renowned iconographer in Cebu.

“Do they have a machine that will determine the age of the ivory?” he asked. “How do you determine the age of ivory? I don’t also know. On the surface, they all look the same.”

He cited the life-sized image of the Our Lady of the Holy Rosary or La Naval in Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City, considered the oldest ivory carving in the Philippines.

Although it was carved in 1593, the image was so well preserved that it looks new, he said.

Fr. Brian Brigoli, head curator of the Cathedral Museum of Cebu, agreed that the authorities will have difficulty in determining the age of ivory.

Brigoli, vice chairman of the archdiocesan commission on the cultural heritage of churches, said Cebu doesn’t have chemicals that can help determine the age of  ivory.

Brigoli, however, doesn’t know if the conservation laboratories in the University of Sto. Tomas and the National Museum of the Philippines have the chemicals and equipment that can do so because the Philippines has never been known for ivory trading.

He said, however, that there were various ways to determine the age of  ivory pieces.

The artistry, craftmanship and associated fabrics of the ivory pieces can provide information on the age of the ivory pieces especially if these are peculiar to a particular era, said Brigoli.

The provenance of ivory items can also determine if these were manufactured before the ban on ivory in 1981. This may be written – documents and certifications that can attest that the ivory items are antique.

The provenance may also be oral – people who can vouch that the ivory items are heirloom pieces.

Carbon dating may not be effective, said archeologist and heritage expert Jojo Bersales, because it can only work on artifacts that are at least 300 years old.

“You also destroy a part of the object if you do radio carbon dating,” he said.

Photos may be used as proof  that the ivory pieces are heirlooms, said Bersales.

Most families, he added, have  photos of their ivory pieces that were taken  years earlier.

Isabelo Montejo, DENR director for Central Visayas, has admitted that they have no expertise to determine whether the ivory pieces are antique or not.

But he added the lack of experts has prompted them to seek the help of the National Museum of the Philippines, which can help in determining the age of ivory.

The crackdown on newly acquired ivory pieces was prompted by a National Geopgrahic article which called attention to the illegal ivory trade in various parts of the world, including the Philippines.

The article identified Msgr. Cristobal Garcia as one of the  country’s top collectors of  ivory religious icons.

On Friday afternoon, the DENR team started the investigation into illegally acquired ivory by going to the shrine in Talisay City, Cebu, where Garcia keeps part of his collection.

But the security guard prevented  the DENR personnel from entering the Diocesan Shrine of Jesus located inside the compound of the Society of the Angel of Peace in the absence of a search warrant.

The Society of the Angel of Peace was founded by Garcia.

The DENR wants collectors of ivory such as Garcia to prove that their ivory items were made before the 1981 ban.

These include presenting sales invoices that can prove that these pieces were bought through legitimate traders or manufacturers.

Nacorda said, however, that instead of taking on the collectors, the authorities  should go after the traders who are all based in Manila.

Nacorda, who owns less than 20 ivory pieces, said he has been in Cebu for at least 20 years but has never encountered an ivory trader here.

He said he  bought some of his ivory pieces in Manila, where they were openly sold. The rest of his collection were heirloom pieces, he added.