Correspondent in Berlin
Ivory is precious and pleasing to the eye, as this 16th century Sri Lankan box, intricately carved from elephant tusks, proves.
From the Museum of Asian Art in Berlin, it is now on display at the Humboldt Forum.
"Her belly is as shiny as ivory"
, raves a young woman enamored in the biblical song of Solomon, reproduced in an adjacent window.
Its whiteness is also a source of health and vigor, praise the essences of the colonial period.
By brushing their faces with ivory cream, blacks inherit - in addition to the diaphanous complexion - the symbolic strength of their white exploiters.
Meanwhile, they pose in pairs in front of the photographer's lens, each carrying the end of an elephant tusk, with the western hunter triumphant in the background.
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