the objects in any one of these fields. A considerable amount of
selection will, therefore, be necessary; and in the interest of
fairness it may be stated at the outset that the treatment and
descriptions for the most part will be of the finest and best
specimens so far obtained. In doing this, of course, we follow the
general and most usual method of those engaged in making cultural
studies. There is, however, an additional and very special reason for
such a procedure in this case. It is the opinion of Dalton, Read, Ling
Roth and Frobenius--perhaps the leading authorities on the whole
subject--that the best objects are likewise the oldest objects; and
since this purports to be a study of the ancient and medieval
cultures, our purpose in following the above method of selection is
doubly clear.

Among the large number of carved works discovered at Benin by the
British Punitive Expedition are a large number of huge and splendidly
carved elephant tusks. These objects have been carefully studied by
Ling Roth, and the following is an abbreviation of his description of
them:[18]

"The tusks vary in length up to six feet and over, and are in
themselves magnificent specimens of ivory, speaking eloquently of
the peaceful life which the elephants must once have lived, in
order to produce such tusks. The ornamentation to which the large
tusks have been subjected while preserving their form is in two
grades: the one is severely plain, and the other extremely ornate
and decorative in effect. The former consists of a series of
three to five incised bands of a plait pattern, a design very
common in West Africa, placed at intervals, the bands
diminishing in width as they approach the tip of the tusk. The
embellishment is consequently plain, but elegant, and does not
call for further remark.

"The other grade consists in covering the whole tusk with a
succession of boldly carved grotesque figures--human, animal, and
symbolic--giving the tusk a rich embroidered-like look, the thick
ends being finished off with a suitable diamond pattern belt and
the tip finished with an equally appropriate series of carvings
in the shape of a mascle studded foolscap, or a capsule supported
by elongated cowries. The back appears to be cut to a uniform
depth, and in spite of the multiplicity of figures there is
neither overcrowding nor overloading.