After the fall of the Roman Empire, the taste for ivory ornament
became almost extinct. There were some periods, however, in the early
part of mediaeval history when this material was not forgotten: when
the caliphs of the East formed of it some of the beautiful ornaments
of their palaces; when the Arabian alchemists subjected it to the
crucible, and so produced the pigment ivory black; when a Danish
knight killed an elephant in the holy wars, and established an order
of knighthood which still exists; when Charlemagne, the emperor of the
West, had ivory ornaments of rare and curious carving.[3] It is,
however, at a period subsequent to the return of the crusaders that we
must date the commencement of a general revival of the taste in
Europe. It would be interesting to trace the steps by which ivory
regained its place in the arts and commerce of nations; but on this
point we must not linger. From the low countries it spread to the far
North. Its relations with art and beauty soon became widely
recognised; the growing luxury of the Roman pontificate encouraged its
applications; and towards the end of the fifteenth century it was
extensively employed as an article of ornament and decoration in every
country and court of Europe.
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