Horn

Description

Ivory horn or oliphant carved with a pattern of interconnected circles formed of tendrils and leaves and containing figures of deer, antelope, lions and birds: Sicily or southern Italy, 11th-12th centuries.

Museum reference

A.1956.562

Collection

Decorative and Applied Art

Object name

Horn, Oliphant

Production information

Italy, Southern Europe

Date

11th - 12th century

Materials

Ivory

Physical description

Ivory, carved

Exhibitions

• Inspired by Nature (08 Feb 2019)
  National Museum of Scotland

• Inspired by Nature (29 Jul 2011 - 2018)
  National Museum of Scotland

• Treasured: Wonderful Things, Amazing Stories (14 Nov 2008 - 01 Jan 2011)
  National Museum of Scotland

References

Mariam Rosser-Owen, 'The Oliphant: A Call for a Shift of Perspective', in Rosa Maria Bacile and John McNeil (eds), Romanesque and the Mediterranean: Points of Contact across the Latin, Greek and Islamic Worlds c. 1000- c.1250, British Archaeological Association Conference Transactions, Leeds: Maney Publishing, 2015, pp. 15-58, illust. Figure 1 on p. 16 [A copy of this held in a Supplementary File in the Department of World Cultures]

On display

national museum of scotland »
level 5 »
world cultures, inspired by nature