Pearl Ivory and Horn -From around the World to Sheffield Cutlery

The talk will explore the range of materials from around the world used to adorn the handles of Sheffield Cutlery.

Where did these materials come from? How did they get to Sheffield? Who crafted them into beautiful objects?

Ethical considerations surrounding the acquisition and display of materials such as ivory are at the forefront of contemporary museums practice. Today, many museums, including Sheffield Museums, don’t actively seek to collect ivory items and will only acquire historic ivory in exceptional circumstances. Whenever historic objects are displayed, we ensure we use the opportunity to talk about the modern ivory trade and its devastating impact on global wildlife. Find out more about the fight to end the elephant ivory trade here: www.wwf.org.uk/updates/fighting-end-elephant-ivory-trade.

Kelham Island Museum
Alma Street
Sheffield
S3 8RY