Ebony is a
dense black/brown
hardwood
Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...
, coming from several species in the genus ''
Diospyros'', which also contains the
persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when polished, making it valuable as an ornamental wood. The word ''ebony'' comes from the
Ancient Egyptian ', through the
Ancient Greek ('), into
Latin and
Middle English.
Species
Species of ebony include ''
Diospyros ebenum'' (Ceylon ebony), native to southern
India and
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
; ''
D. crassiflora'' (Gabon ebony), native to western
Africa; and ''
D. celebica'' (
Sulawesi
Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
ebony), native to
Indonesia and prized for its luxuriant, multi-colored wood grain.
Mauritius ebony, ''
D. tessellaria'', was largely exploited by the
Dutch in the 17th century. Some species in the genus yield an ebony with similar physical properties, but striped rather than the even black of ''D. ebenum''.
Uses
Ebony has a long history of use, and carved pieces have been found in
Ancient Egyptian tombs.
By the end of the 16th century, fine cabinets for the luxury trade were made of ebony in
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, . The wood's dense hardness lent itself to refined moldings framing finely detailed pictorial panels with carving in very low relief (
bas-relief), usually of allegorical subjects, or with scenes taken from classical or Christian history. Within a short time, such cabinets were also being made in
Paris, where their makers became known as ''
ébénistes'', which remains the French term for a
cabinetmaker.
Modern uses are largely restricted to small items, such as
crucifixes, the main body of some musical instruments such as the
clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
,
oboe, or
piccolo
The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...
and
musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...
parts, including black
piano,
organ
Organ may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (biology), a part of an organism
Musical instruments
* Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone
** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument
** Hammond ...
, and
harpsichord
A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...
keys;
violin,
viola,
mandolin
A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
,
guitar,
double bass, and
cello fingerboard
The fingerboard (also known as a fretboard on fretted instruments) is an important component of most stringed instruments. It is a thin, long strip of material, usually wood, that is laminated to the front of the neck of an instrument. The stri ...
s;
tailpieces;
tuning pegs;
chinrests; and
bow frogs. Many
plectrums, or guitar picks, are made from ebony.
Traditionally, black
chess piece
A chess piece, or chessman, is a game piece that is placed on a chessboard to play the game of chess. It can be either White and Black in chess, white or black, and it can be one of six types: King (chess), king, Queen (chess), queen, Rook (chess ...
s were made from ebony, with
boxwood or
ivory being used for the white pieces. Modern East Midlands-style lace-making
bobbin
A bobbin or spool is a spindle or cylinder, with or without flanges, on which yarn, thread, wire, tape or film is wound. Bobbins are typically found in industrial textile machinery, as well as in sewing machines, fishing reels, tape measure ...
s, also being small, are often made of ebony and look particularly decorative when bound with brass or silver wire. Some expensive handgun grips and rifle fore-end tips are still made of ebony, as are the
butts of pool cues.
As a result of unsustainable harvesting, many species yielding ebony are now considered threatened. Most indigenous ebony in Africa in particular has been cut down illegally.
Protection
In
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, ebony is a protected species and harvesting and sale of ebony is illegal and punishable by imprisonment.
In 2012, the
Gibson Guitar company was raided by the US
Fish and Wildlife Service for violations of the
Lacey Act of 1900, which prohibits the importation of threatened woods and other materials.
An ebony and
rosewood expert at the
Missouri Botanical Garden calls the Madagascar wood trade the "equivalent of Africa's
blood diamond
''Blood Diamond'' is a 2006 American political war action thriller film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, and Djimon Hounsou. The title refers to blood diamonds, which are diamonds min ...
s".
Gallery
File:Bellpianokeyboarddetail&maker'sname.JPG, Ebony and ivory keys in a piano keyboard
File:Sculpture ebene.jpg, alt= sculpture
File:Early or mid 20th century ebony clothes brush, made in Japan.JPG, Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese clothes brush
File:Chess set 4o06.jpg, Chess set
File:Kamagong (Ironwood) Chair.jpg, Kamagong (ebony) chair
File:EbonyWhiteOak.JPG, Planks of wood including Gabon ebony
''Diospyros crassiflora'', commonly known as Gabon ebony, African ebony, West African ebony, and Benin ebony is a species of lowland-rainforest tree in the family Ebenaceae that is endemic to Western Africa. It is named after the West African st ...
File:Violinfingerboard.JPG, Violin fingerboard
The fingerboard (also known as a fretboard on fretted instruments) is an important component of most stringed instruments. It is a thin, long strip of material, usually wood, that is laminated to the front of the neck of an instrument. The stri ...
and tuning pegs
File:1974 Gibson Les Paul Custom.JPG, A Les Paul Gibson
The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typic ...
guitar with ebony fretboard
See also
*
African Blackwood
*
Calamander wood
frameless, upright=1.2
upright=0.9, Bookmatched veneer
Calamander or coromandel is a valuable hardwood obtained from the species '' Diospyros quaesita'', native to India and Sri Lanka. It is also known as or variegated ebony and is closely relat ...
*
Ebonite
*
Ebonol
*
Illegal logging in Madagascar
References
External links
Red List– For recommendations found under the
IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
{{Authority control
Diospyros
Ebony
Wood