A highly prized and carved product much employed in the Orientalizing period, most notably at sites such as Murlo, Castellina in Chianti, Chiusi, Castelnuovo di Berardenga, and Comeana. Many precious objects or parts of larger objects were carved out of this material, including vases, caskets, bracelets, handles, and sword hilts. The exotic nature of the material and its long-distance procurement enhanced the multiple biographies of the objects made from it. Similar techniques were also applied to horn and bone.
See also TRADE.
Historical Dictionary of the Etruscans. Simon K. F. Stoddart.