In a bid to send a strong message against elephant poaching
and illegal trading in ivory goods, Prince William of Britain has called for
destroying all the 1200 items of ivory in the possession of the Buckingham
Palace. Without going into the merits
and demerits of destroying finer art pieces, I wish to focus attention of the
ivory art works taken from India by the British people during their colonial
occupation.
Royal collection: There are over
1,200 items in the Royal Collection which are listed as containing ivory,
including this throne and footstool which comes from India and dates to 1850
Though killing innocent animals for the ivory is terribly
bad, I am of the opinion that ancient Indian goods of ivory were not made from
poached elephants. There is a verse from Sangam age Tamil text, “Nedu nal
vaadai” on how ivory was procured for making the Royal cot for the queen of the
Pandiyan King Nedum chezhiyan. The
elephant having drum-like legs and had crossed 40 years of age and had served
in battle field until then was considered as the right candidate for ivory. Its
tusk that has fallen on its own from this elephant is ideal for making the cot.
The tusks taken from dead or killed elephants
were not suitable for making art works. That was the norm of choice for ivory
in India where poaching was not reported in the past. Many such rare products
had left India, some of them finding a place in Buckingham Palace.
The British Royal family came to possess numerous art works
on ivory from many of the overseas countries and kingdoms in the past
centuries. I don’t think those works also would have been made through cruel
means (of getting the tusk). In all fairness, the British Royal family must
return these goods to the original owners wherever the owner countries had been
identified. As for the throne and other items taken from India, they must be
returned to India and not destroyed.
-Jayasree
From
Prince William 'wants to destroy
ALL of Queen's ivory collection to set an example for other world leaders'
Prince William has vowed to destroy all 1,200 ivory
artefacts in Buckingham Palace to 'send a message' to illegal elephant
poachers.
The priceless collection includes a throne from India that
belonged to Queen Victoria, as well as fans, tankards, statuettes, and
furniture.
But sources close to the prince say he feels strongly about
putting 'his money where his mouth is'. If successful, he will go on to urge
other heads of state to follow suit.
A long-term supporter of animal rights charities, the Duke
of Cambridge makes regular speeches imploring world leaders to adopt a 'zero
tolerance' policy towards illegal poaching in the lucrative trade.
On Thursday, he joined his father Prince Charles to a summit
in London urging industry members to 'follow the money' to chase the brutal
gangs, just days after the pair released a multi-lingual appeal for people to
condemn illegal poaching across the world.
At home in Clarence House, William is said to have ordered
for all ivory items to be hidden from sight for years.
Speaking at a conference last year, the second in line to
the throne said: 'The forces that are currently destroying some of the world's
most endangered species are sophisticated and powerful, but this week we are
seeing the creation of an equally powerful alliance, coming together to help
fight them.'
The royal collection now under threat mainly consists of gifts handed to the Queen by
leaders across the world.
Palace sources insist they were all acquired 'in full
knowledge of relevant legislation'.
The princes have been over to Africa
to survey the stockpiles of elephant tusks collated from gangs
However, experts have hailed the suggestion as a powerful
move that will have significant impact.
'It's difficult to imagine a stronger symbol of the horrors
of ivory than Buckingham Palace publicly destroying its own,' Conservative MP
Zac Goldsmith told the Independent on Sunday.
'Good for Prince William for pushing this.'
However, the move, the latest in a number of bids by the
prince to protect elephants, has sparked outrage in the art world as experts
claim destroying works 'of the highest order' is 'menacing'.
The royal collection mainly consists of gifts handed to the Queen by leaders across the world.
Brian Sewell, art critic and elephant-protection supporter,
told the Independent on Sunday: 'We have to recognise that [these items] exist.
'I can't see the connection between saving elephants and
destroying works of art made centuries ago.'
