Viktor Dordzhiev, Bone Carving: Statues, Figures and Chests

In the beginning when Viktor was learning carving skills, he mainly used cow or pig bones. In high school he used a mammoth tusk for his carvings. His first works made from a mammoth tusk are called ‘the Kalmyk wrestling’ and ‘the Mother’s Song’ (1997). Another interesting bone that he used for his work is the tooth of a sperm whale that he bought in Tobol’sk.Viktor shows the figure of the famous Khoshud monk Zaya Pandita. Since there are no pictures available of the historical Zaya Pandita, this figure is Viktor’s imagination of how the monk would have looked.Over the years Viktor’s bone carving skills have been perfected. He talks about polishing techniques and instruments that he uses in his trade, including a wool cloth, sandpaper, a drilling machine, etc.Recently Viktor started producing chests. He carves pieces and then glues them together. He shows a chest made from a mammoth tusk that he calls ‘Aranzal’ (a horse name). On another chest called ‘Elista’ a tulip is depicted.Sponsored by Arcadia Fund, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin