Popular aesthetic sculptures in Thailand are composed of religious subjects such as the Buddha, various mythological creatures, chess pieces, and bindings for palm-leaf Buddhist scriptures. Notable examples of these were carved in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These were housed in the National Museum in Bangkok. These best pieces were carved by craftsmen from the royal palace or those patronized by powerful families.
They say the quality of Thai ivory carving declined as consumers shifted from royalty and the noble class to tourists and businessmen. A large part of this is due to pressure on meeting higher demand but with small amount of time allotted on every piece.
This was the result of mass production where priority is placed on quantity and not on quality. Before, craftsmen spend months carving a single piece using hand tools. Mass-market electric tool reduced the time, at the same time the attention a carver spends on individual items.
To date, there are about 2,000 domesticated elephants in Thailand. However, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is a worldwide ban on ivory trade. Locally, the government also implemented the “Elephant Law” that protects the specie from near-extinction.
With an extensive international and local pressure to ban ivory sales, livelihoods of around 120 carvers in the country adversely affected. For instance, the shift from ivory to cow bone carving decreased the income of one workshop from an average of $500 a month to $150 a month.
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