中國牙雕的象牙雕刻藝術有著極其悠久的歷史，始于新石器時代。在北京黃土坡出土的戰國墓中發現過象牙梳子。遼、金、元、明、清歷代帝王都把象牙作為皇家供品，明代的果園廠和清代的造辦處都有為皇宮做象牙制品的作坊，其中最具代表的是象牙名作'月曼清游'。
The ivory carving art of Chinese ivory carving has a very long history, starting from the Neolithic age. Ivory combs have been found in the tombs of the Warring States period unearthed in Huangtupo, Beijing. The emperors of Liao, Jin, yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties all used Ivory as their royal offerings. The orchards of Ming Dynasty and the offices of Qing Dynasty all had workshops for making ivory products for the Imperial Palace, among which the most representative was the famous ivory work "Yue Man Qing you".
中國象牙雕刻經過數幾千年的發展，清代中期陸續形成了若干個相對集中的中心生產地，主要以廣州、蘇州、北京為代表。各個中心生產地之間既在題材和形式上保持著各地的風格特色，同時又互相滲透，在技術上有交流。20世紀70年代后，隨著交通便捷，訊息技術的發展，各地牙雕藝人頻繁交往，切磋技藝，取長補短，各地區的地方牙雕的色彩，一方面在增加，形成了北京、廣州、上海、南京四個主要地區，其他還有天津、福州、樂清等地，另一方面他們之間的風格也逐漸的淡化，這是一個必然的趨勢。精細工整，玲瓏剔透的廣州牙雕以廣州為代表，故稱之廣州牙雕，北京牙雕具有了雍容華貴的宮廷藝術品格。
After thousands of years of development, China's ivory carving in the middle of the Qing Dynasty has formed several relatively concentrated production centers, mainly represented by Guangzhou, Suzhou and Beijing. The production places of each center not only maintain the style and characteristics of each place in subject matter and form, but also permeate each other and have exchanges in technology. After the 1970s, with the development of convenient transportation and information technology, ivory carving artists from all over the world frequently exchanged skills and learned from each other to make up for each other's shortcomings. On the one hand, the color of local ivory carving in various regions increased, forming four major regions: Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Nanjing. On the other hand, Tianjin, Fuzhou, Yueqing and other places, and on the other hand, their styles gradually weakened, This is an inevitable trend. Guangzhou is the representative of the fine, neat and exquisitely carved teeth in Guangzhou, so it's called Guangzhou tooth carving. Beijing tooth carving has the elegant palace artistic character.
牙雕是一門古老的傳統藝術，也是一門漢族民間工藝美術。牙為大象身上最堅固的部分，其光潔如玉、耐用、珍貴勘與寶玉石媲美，因此象牙又有有機寶石之美譽。而象牙雕刻藝術品，以堅實細密，色澤柔潤光滑的質地，精美的雕刻藝術，倍受收藏家珍愛，成為古玩中獨具特色的品種之一。
Tooth carving is an ancient traditional art, but also a Han folk arts and crafts. The tooth is the most solid part of the elephant. It is as bright and clean as jade, durable and precious as gemstone. Therefore, ivory is also known as an organic gem. The ivory carving art, with its solid and fine texture, soft and smooth color and exquisite carving art, is cherished by collectors and becomes one of the unique varieties of antiques.
清代，是牙雕工藝的鼎盛時代，牙雕與竹、木、角、金石等小件雕刻一樣，成為幾案上陳設珍玩。清代前朝，象牙雕刻繼承了明代的傳統，不論在生產技術或藝術創造方面，都有所發展。中期以后，象牙雕刻藝術創作方面走向了繁瑣堆飾。當時，象牙雕刻分宮廷手工藝與民間手工藝兩類，宮廷制作者精工細膩，人物、花鳥紋飾多仿繪畫筆意，著色、填彩均有一定的章法。雖然如此，但兩者是沒有絕對區別的，許多宮廷牙匠都是從民間直接招募的。清代的象牙雕刻已基本形成江南與廣東兩大藝術流派。由于文人雅士的偏愛，立意清新典雅的作品出現了，為了獲得好的作品，一大批文人畫家不僅設計構圖，還直接參與雕刻，使牙雕的風格出新的變化。
In the Qing Dynasty, it was the heyday of the art of ivory carving. Like bamboo, wood, horn, gold stone and other small sculptures, ivory carving became a rare display on several cases. Before the Qing Dynasty, ivory carving inherited the tradition of the Ming Dynasty, and developed in both production technology and artistic creation. After the mid-term, the ivory carving art creation went to the tedious heap decoration. At that time, ivory carving was divided into two categories: Palace crafts and folk crafts. The court makers were exquisite and exquisite, and the figures, flowers and birds were mostly imitated by the brushwork of painting. There were certain rules for coloring and filling colors. However, there is no absolute difference between the two. Many court dental workers are directly recruited from the people. The ivory carving in Qing Dynasty has basically formed two major art schools in Jiangnan and Guangdong. Due to the preference of literati, fresh and elegant works appeared. In order to obtain good works, a large number of literati painters not only design and composition, but also directly participate in carving, making the style of ivory carving change.
總體而言，象牙雕刻發展至清代，已逐步向'小品雕刻'的趨勢發展，大件牙雕已不常見。文房用具理所當然地成了牙雕工藝的主要部分。主要以文玩、裝飾品為主，筆筒、筆架、硯臺、墨盒、水墨、鎮紙以及一些文具盒、印盒、畫托等都比較常見，這些象牙小件多以文人故事、花鳥圖案，吉祥題材為裝飾，有著濃郁的文人氣息。象牙雕刻成為文人士大夫以及官宦貴員的案頭把玩。
Generally speaking, ivory carving developed into the Qing Dynasty, and has gradually developed into the trend of 'small carving', while large ivory carving is not common. Of course, the stationery has become the main part of the ivory carving process. Mainly for literary games and decorations, pen holder, pen holder, inkstone, ink cartridge, ink wash, Paperweight, and some stationery boxes, printing boxes, picture holders, etc. are common. These Ivory small pieces are mostly decorated with literati stories, flowers and birds patterns, auspicious themes, and have a strong literati flavor. Ivory carving became a desk game for literati and officials.
從古至今，牙雕就是人們公認的高檔奢侈品。早在遠古時代，牙角就被人類用來制成各種簡單的飾品來美化自己。此后，隨著人類生活水平的不斷提高，牙雕的形制和用途也發生了根本變化。到了明清兩代，象牙雕更是精品迭出，其中尤以乾隆年間的牙雕最興盛，此件可以說是清代牙雕的巔峰作品了。
Since ancient times, ivory carving has been recognized as a luxury. As early as in ancient times, the tooth horn was used by human beings to make various simple ornaments to beautify themselves. Since then, with the continuous improvement of human living standards, the shape and use of ivory carvings have also undergone fundamental changes. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, ivory carvings were more excellent, especially in the Qianlong period. This is the peak work of the Qing Dynasty.
