In Paris, the Practice of a Dying Art
The New York Times
Pierre Heckmann, 93, is among the last “ivoiriers,” or sculptors of ivory, in Europe.
PARIS — Pedestrians on the boutique-lined Rue Bonaparte might pause at a little shop displaying the discreet sign “Ivoire,” their curiosity piqued by the elderly man at a workbench near the window. He might be repairing an ivory necklace that had lost a bead or the chip in an ivory jewelry box — practicing a dying art.
In Europe, Pierre Heckmann, 93, may well be one of the last ivoiriers, “a sculptor who works with ivory,” he explained. He is sure he is the lone member, and therefore president, of the Chambres Syndicales de l’Ivoire and de L’Ecaille (tortoiseshell), one of France’s many organizations for skilled artisans.
Mr. Heckmann said he learned to carve ivory from his father, who learned from his father. They used the very same tools that now clutter his workbench and the machines that stand ready in his workshop, but then the tools of this trade, from metal files to jigsaw cutters, have not changed since the 1800s.
