Fantastic and real creatures, juxtaposed within roundels, abound on the carved surface of this hunting horn. Ivory tusks of this type, used as reliquaries or symbols of land tenure, were apparently produced for both Muslim and Christian patrons in the medieval Islamic period. Similar motifs in contemporary textiles reveal the popularity of this repeating design.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Oliphant
Date:12th–13th century
Geography:Attributed to Southern Italy
Medium:Ivory; carved, gilded silver and bronze mounts
Dimensions:Overall: L. 17 1/8 (43.5 cm) W. 3 1/4 in. (8.2 cm) D. 2 5/8 in. (6.6 cm) Min. Diam. 1 3/16 in. (3 cm)
Classification:Ivories and Bone
Credit Line:Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Object Number:17.190.215
Baron Albert Oppenheim, Cologne (by 1904; cat., 1904, no. 66); J. Pierpont Morgan (American), New York (until d. 1913; his estate 1913–17; gifted to MMA)
Ann Arbor. University of Michigan. "The Meeting of Two Worlds: The Crusades and the Mediterranean Context," May 9, 1981–September 27, 1981, no. 42.
New York. The Hagop Kevorkian Special Exhibitions Gallery, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Nature of Islamic Ornament, Part IV: Figural Representation," September 16, 1999–January 30, 2000, no catalogue.
Heider, Gustav. Mittelalterliche Kunstdenkmale des Österreichischen Kaiserstaates. Stuttgart, 1858–1860. vol. 2, p. 126 ff.
Westwood, J. O. "South Kensington Museum." In A Descriptive Catalogue of the Fictile Ivories in the South Kensington Museum, with an account of the Continental Collections of Classical and Mediaeval Ivories. London, 1876. p. 440 (related).
Molinier, Emile. Collection du Baron Albert Oppenheim. Paris, 1904. no. 66, p. 30, ill. pl. L.
"Catalogue Possenti de Fabriano." In Objects de Art et de Curiosite. Vol. 1-2. Florence: Possenti de Fabriano, 1880. no. 3, p. 13, ill. figs. 105–6 (related).
Hampel, József. Alterthümer des Frühen Mittelalters in Ungarn. Vol. vols. 1-3. Braunschweig, 1905. vol. 2, pp. 888 ff, ill. v. 3 pls. 532–37 (related objects).
Migeon, Gaston. "Les Arts Plastiques et Industriels." In Manuel d'Art Musulman. vol. 2. Paris: Alphonse Picard et Fils, 1907. p. 151, ill. fig. 135 (related).
Guide to the Loan exhibition of the J. Pierpont Morgan collection. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1914. pp. 10, 13, ill.
"Accessions and Notes." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin vol. 15 (1920). p. 17, no. 1.
Dimand, Maurice S. A Handbook of Muhammadan Art. 2nd rev. and enl. ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1944. p. 128.
Kühnel, Ernst, and J. & S. Goldschmidt. Die Islamische Elfenbeinskulpturen VII–XIII Jahrhundert. no. 30. Berlin: Deutscher Verlag für Kunstwissenschaft, 1971. no. 74, pp. 16, 17, 21, 23, 60, 61, ill. pl. LXXIII.
Les Ivoires: Deuxième Partie: Antiquité, Islam, Inde, Chine, Japon, Afrique Noire, Régions Polaires, Amérique. vol. 137. Paris: Tardy, 1977. p. 128, ill.
Bornstein, Christine Verzar. "The Crusades and the Mediterranean Context." In The Meeting of Two Worlds. Ann Arbor, 1981. no. 42, p. 67, ill. (b/w).
Shalem, Avinoam. "Islamic Objects in Historical Context." In The Oliphant. Leiden, Boston: Brill, 2004. pp. 61–62.
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