Since the late 19th century, Alexandria has been considered by scholars as the

principal centre of ivory and bone carving in the Mediterranean. The abundance

of such objects gathered during the construction boom of the rapidly developing

modern city led to the formation of several private collections. Excavations directed

by the Municipality and numerous private donations yielded a large ensemble

of bone and ivory pieces that were exhibited in the Graeco-Roman Museum, an

institution founded at the end of the 19th century. Ivory and bone carvings became

a subject of special attention, since they were considered as one of the best sources

for our knowledge of Alexandrian history of art. Unfortunately, contradictory

opinions on the eventual role of Alexandrian workshops in Mediterranean art

remained unresolved for an entire century, due to a lack of stratified excavations

and the properly identified context of archaeological finds.

This volume presents for the first time the largest ensemble of bone and ivory

carvings acquired from systematic excavations in ancient Alexandria and its

suburbs, as carried out by the Centre d'Études Alexandrines (CEAlex). A selection

of the most representative pieces (667) carved in the round, adorned with incised

and relief decoration, a variety of daily use objects, half-products, and rejects

are presented in the catalogue, which is enriched by drawings, photographs and

maps indicating the locations where they were excavated. Judging from the ample

workshop material, we can now directly confirm the local production of specific bone

and ivory carvings in ancient Alexandria, also the locations of specialised ateliers

within the city and the period of their activity. The first part of the book presents

an extensive discussion on bone and ivory production, its role in Alexandrian art

and its relationship to other crafts such as carpentry, local and regional commerce,

as well as an analysis of individual items based on broad comparative studies, all

of which help to solve basic questions on Alexandrian ivory and bone carving,

particularly in the Roman and Byzantine periods.