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Ebony

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Plants

                    iEbony
           Scientific classification

   Kingdom:  Plantae
   Division: Magnoliophyta
   Class:    Magnoliopsida
   Order:    Ericales
   Family:   Ebenaceae
   Genus:    Diospyros
   Species:  D. ebenum

                                Binomial name

   Diospyros ebenum
   Koenig ex Retz.
   A sculpture in ebony (African art).
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   A sculpture in ebony ( African art).
   An ebony clothes brush
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   An ebony clothes brush
   Chess set - black pieces are ebony
   Enlarge
   Chess set - black pieces are ebony

   Ebony (Diospyros ebenum), also known as Indian Ebony or Ceylon Ebony,
   is a tree in the genus Diospyros, native to southern India and Sri
   Lanka. It is noted for its heavy, (initially) black, fine-grained
   heartwood. It is a medium-sized evergreen tree, reaching 20–25 m tall.
   The leaves are entire, about 6–15 cm long and 3–5 cm broad. The fruit
   is a small berry 2 cm diameter, similar to a small persimmon. Although
   the wood and heartwood of the tree appear black when first harvested,
   typically within six months to one year the grain lightens to a
   chocolate-colored brown. To prevent this, the wood is treated with a
   stain that causes it to retain its original (and expected) black
   colour.

Uses

   Ebony heartwood is one of the most intensely black woods known, which,
   combined with its very high density (it is one of the very few woods
   that sinks in water), fine texture, and ability to polish very
   smoothly, has made it very valuable as an ornamental wood. It has a
   long history of use, with carved pieces having been found in Ancient
   Egyptian tombs. The word "ebony" derives from the Ancient Egyptian
   hbny, via the Greek έβενος (ebenos), by way of Latin and Middle
   English.

   By the end of the 16th century, fine cabinets for the luxury trade were
   made of ebony in Antwerp. The 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 taken
   from classical or Christian history. Within a short time, such cabinets
   were also being made at Paris, where their makers became known as
   ébénistes, which remains the French term for a cabinetmaker.

   Modern uses are largely restricted to small sizes, particularly in
   musical instrument making, including piano and harpsichord keys,
   violin, guitar, and cello finger boards, pegs and chinrests.
   Traditionally, black piano and harpsichord keys were ebony, and the
   black pieces in chess were made from ebony, with holly wood (of similar
   texture, but white) being used for the white pieces. Modern East
   Midlands-style lacemaking bobbins, also being small, are often made of
   ebony and look particularly decorative when bound with brass or silver
   wire.

   As a result of unsustainable harvesting, many species of ebony are now
   considered threatened (compare the recommendations found under the IUCN
   Red List http://www.redlist.org with those species accepted as
   endangered and for which import restrictions apply at
   http://www.cites.org ).
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebony"
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