For thousands of years humans have used animals, plants and minerals as raw materials for the manufacture of both practical and decorative objects. The uses to which they put materials such as bone, wood, metal and plastic reflect cultural differences as well as technological changes.

In some cases different materials were used to make similar types of objects. Combs from the early 1900s can be found made from bone, horn and plastic. In other cases the same materials were used o produce very different objects.

In the 1880s, the Powerhouse Museum began to collect examples of the human use of materials. These were primarily used in displays illustrating the production processes used in Australia.. In some instances, they introduced new material technologies to the Australian public to spur interest and investment.

The collection ranges from antiquity to the present day and includes artifacts made by people from around the globe. These objects are all evidence of human ingenuity and skill in fashioning the world's organic and synthetic resources. While many of the more practical objects, such as spoons and combs, are still used, their designs have changed or synthetic materials have replaced natural ones. Other materials, such as ivory and porcelain, have been used to create objects that are decorative rather than simply practical. These can reflect a very specific cultural period or the work of a particular artist or school.

Geoff Barker, Assistant Curator, April 2008

References
MacGregor, A., 'Bone, Antler, Ivory and Horn: the technology of skeletal materials since the Roman period', Barnes and Noble Books, New Jersey, 1985.
Knight, E., H., (ed), 'Knights American Mechanical Dictionary', Vol 1, J.B. Ford and Company, New York, 1874
Schaverien, A., 'Horn, its History and its Uses', Everbest Printing Co., 2006
Mossman, S., (ed.), Early Plastics; perspectives, 1850-1950, Leicester University Press, London, 1997

+ Manufacturing technology

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