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A natural product, ivory has been widely used in the production of small works of art from the late Classical era onwards. African ivory imported via Venice and other Italian ports was the most commonly used. Of equal importance, however, were the teeth of hippopotami, narwhals, sperm whales and walruses. Even brown rhinoceros horn was so similar to ivory that it was considered an equally valuable resource. The popularity of medieval carvings and sculptures in ivory lasted right into the twelfth century. Apart from the production of small sculptures, ivory found other uses, but these were mainly religious ones for liturgical purposes.
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