Four ivory mortars Turned, with light to honey... Lot 520

Four ivory mortars Turned, with light to honey brown patina. Baluster forms on a stepped foot with turned profiles. Three baluster pestles (one with break-off). Cracks, small chips at the rim. H 11,5 - 15,4, weight approx. 2,3 kg. Iberian Peninsula/ North Africa or Colonial, 17th - 19th century. Mortars made of bone and ivory were produced in Asian countries as well as in Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. The material was only suitable for pestling or grinding soft substances, i.e. less for spices and grains. In addition, only relatively small vessels could be produced from it, because each piece was cut from a tooth and therefore had a maximum diameter of that tooth. Literature Cf. Launert, The Mortar, Munich 1990, no. 34 ff. This object was produced using materials for which a CITES permit is required for export to countries outside the EU. We would like to point out that a permit is not usually granted.