BALTIMORE, MD.- On November 7, the Walters Art Museum opens Luxury & Loss: Feather, Shell, Tusk, Horn, a major exhibition that explores luxurious art objects crafted from four natural materials taken from the animal world: kingfisher feather, tortoiseshell, elephant ivory, and rhinoceros horn. For centuries, these materials were prized by the powerful and wealthy for their beauty, scarcity, and the skill required to obtain and work with them. The exhibition will also examine the evolving understanding of how the consumption of materials from these animals over centuries contributed to the eventual decline and endangerment of their respective wild animal populations, which resulted in governments worldwide banning the commercial trade of all four materials in the 20th century. Luxury & Loss is on view through Sunday, January 24, 2027.
The exhibition includes 94 objects and draws on the Walters’ collections of Asian, European, American, and African art with additional private and institutional loans. In the first section, historical artworks made from related animal materials, including mother-of-pearl, ostrich feathers, red coral, whale baleen, bone, and hide, introduce visitors to the long relationship between humans and animals across an array of geographic and artistic traditions. From there, the exhibition is arranged into sections devoted to each of the four main materials: feather, shell, tusk, and horn. Through these displays, the show examines each material’s historical appeal and use, impact on wildlife populations, and society’s evolving response to that legacy. Works by contemporary artists examining different aspects of these legacies are featured in each section. Made with faux, ethically sourced, or repurposed historic animal materials, these works speak to the enduring human desire for beauty and luxury.
“The breadth and depth of the Walters Art Museum’s collections from Asia, Europe, America, and Africa make it possible for us to present Luxury & Loss for our visitors,” said Kate Burgin, Andrea B. and John H. Laporte Director and CEO. “The beauty and artistry of these works is remarkable, and this exhibition creates a space for both appreciation and education about the environmental impact of these goods. Including voices and stories from leaders in Maryland who are working to create positive lasting environmental change in our communities bridges the past and the present, and encourages visitors to view themselves as part of the solution."
Historic Examples of Tusk, Feather, Shell, and Horn
For thousands of years, elephant ivory was used to adorn household objects, to make personal items, and as a canvas for painting and sculpture. Ivory is the most prominent material showcased in Luxury & Loss, and more than half of the objects on display feature the material—a reflection of its representation in the Walters’ collection. Fifty works made from ivory are featured in the exhibition, including a decorative bust of a Florentine woman by French artist Augustin Jean Moreau-Vauthier (1831‒1893), a delicate Chinese bris fan, and a Japanese articulated sculpture of a lobster. Fueled by growing global demand, the ivory trade reached its height between the 15th and 19th centuries. This contributed to a steep decline in African and Asian elephant populations, but it wasn’t until 1989 that the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) enacted a worldwide ban on the commercial ivory trade.
Kingfishers are small birds, prized for their iridescent blue feathers, which were used across China’s more than 2,500-year featherwork tradition to adorn accessories, jewelry, clothing, and screens. The exhibition includes hair ornaments decorated with kingfisher feathers of types worn by the highest-ranking women in Chinese society. Because a single ornament could require the feathers of dozens of birds, centuries of sustained demand drove intensive hunting of wild kingfisher populations across Southeast Asia, and several species remain vulnerable today. In 1989, the Chinese government implemented bans to protect the kingfisher populations in response to the near extinction of certain kingfisher species.
The shell plates of marine turtles, more commonly known as tortoiseshell, were prized as an artistic material for their patterning, warm colors, translucency, and shine. The durable, lightweight, waterproof material was used to create furniture inlays, household objects, instruments, jewelry, and accessories. Among the objects in the exhibition are an elaborate German writing case, a pair of ornamental hair combs from China, and a cabinet with tortoiseshell inlaid into brass by French artist Andr-Charles Boulle (1642‒1732). Centuries of harvesting pushed the hawksbill sea turtle, the primary source of tortoiseshell, to the brink of extinction, and CITES issued a worldwide ban on the tortoiseshell trade in 1973.
Rhinoceros horn, valued in both Asia and Europe for its patterning and translucency, was carved into cups and goblets once believed to detect poison, and used in medicine and accessories. On view in the exhibition are three drinking vessels made of rhinoceros horn, including a 19th-century cup carved into the shape of a flower with elaborate piercing scrollwork from China. Demand for horn, especially for use in traditional Chinese and Vietnamese medicine, has resulted in rhinoceroses being among the most heavily poached animals in the world, and by the 20th century, all species of rhinoceros became threatened or endangered. In response, CITES issued a ban on commercial international trade of rhinoceros horn in 1977.
Contemporary Responses
Contemporary works are featured throughout the installation and explore human impact and intervention, consumerism, and the relationship between humans and animals, underscoring the relevance of luxury goods and animal materials today. Jenny Kendler’s Music for Elephants (2016) uses an antique player piano with ivory keys to play a score generated by an algorithm predicting how long it may take for African elephants to become extinct. Kate MccGwire’s sculpture Ravish (2023) “reanimates” discarded rooster feathers as caged, serpentine creatures. Baltimore artist Amy Boone-McCreesh’s mixed media installation Scarcity and Surplus (2026) uses faux tortoiseshell designs to examine how luxury and value continue to be constructed by society. My Ailing Beliefs Can Cure Your Wretched Desires (2017) by Tuan Andrew Nguyen, a 2025 MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, is a video installation that imagines a conversation between the spirits of two extinct animals: a Javan rhinoceros and a turtle.
Near the end of the exhibition, an audio installation shares first-hand accounts from Baltimore-region conservationists, including Gina Takaoka of Project Toad Ferry, Sarah Greenberg of the Oyster Recovery Partnership, Joe Corcoran of the Baltimore Bird Club, and turtle biologist Steve Kimble of Towson University, bringing local voices into an important global conversation.
“The expertly crafted works in Luxury & Loss draw you in with their stunning beauty and craftsmanship. Kingfisher feathers are a brilliant blue; each piece of tortoiseshell features a unique and mesmerizing pattern; ivory is intriguingly sumptuous yet durable; and rhinoceros horn, when thinly carved, is unexpectedly translucent,” said Dany Chan, Associate Curator of Asian Art and curator of the exhibition. “At the same time, our relationship to these materials has changed over time, as we have come to understand more clearly the environmental impact. Luxury & Loss is an opportunity to explore both sides of this dynamic, presenting visitors the chance to take in the beauty of the works on display as they consider the lasting environmental impact of these once-prized luxury goods.”
