Brent Stirton's Image

Master carver Marcial Bernales has been carving ivory for 45 years.

From his workshop in Valenzuela, near Manila in the Philippines, he has made hundreds of pieces, all of which are of a religious nature, depicting Catholic images. His work is in the collections of many devotees, and his ivory pieces - such as this one of an ivory head and hand set - are in great demand among the wealthy collectors of the Philippines and abroad. He and his wife, who co-runs the workshop and their shop in Manila, claim to use only pre-ban ivory, but that is questionable, given the demand and the fact that the Philippines has never been the recipient of any post-ban legal ivory sale. In June 2013, Filipino authorities destroyed a huge haul of illegal ivory shipments, to show to the world that it intends to crack down on the illegal trade.