Ibex beaker with gilded silver mounts
German, the mounts probably Salzburg
Not on view
The hunting of the alpine ibex, a wild goat species endangered as early as the eighteenth century, was restricted to the court of the prince-archbishops of Salzburg. Ibex horn is also significant in a pharmaceutical context: it allegedly possessed the ability to prevent poisoning and evil, as well as having aphrodisiac properties. Exuberant works of art made from ibex horn were sent to foreign courts as diplomatic gifts. The entry on the animal published in 1744 in Johann Heinrich Zedler’s Universal-Lexicon notes, “Spoons, small bowls, or drinking vessels made out of ibex are incomparably healthy against poison and epilepsy.” This cup is exactly such a type.
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