Walking with Elephants: Stories of Ivories in a Museum of Ancient Art

Abstract

AbstractPalazzo Madama – Museo Civico d'Arte Antica in Turin (Italy) owns nearly 300 ivories from the XII to the XVIIIth century, mostly coming from the Royal Treasure of the Savoy Palace in Turin. In March 2016 the museum completely renovated the ivories’ showcases. In parallel the curators went through a deep art historical research on the museum's ivories which converged in a systematic catalogue of the collection. Even being a “traditional” museum of ancient art, Palazzo Madama works on its collections with a wider and transversal approach, drawing in disciplines such as antropology, history of culture and chemistry and experiencing projects of storytelling. The museum has carried out in the last five years series of conferences, exhibitions and public education activities dedicated to the ritual and symbolic use of ivory over the centuries: with an overview from the past to the present and across the three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, anthropologists, historians and representatives of the local communities have driven the dialogue to raise awareness on a medium which “walks” with humanity from its origin. The Museum believes that, in order to introduce policies to save elephants and to combat poaching, it is necessary for citizens to see and understand ivory artefacts duly explained.