Missing Title

anonymous, c. 1000 - c. 1099

For centuries, these three objects appeared on Catholic feast days on the high altar of the Mariakerk, Utrecht. Candlesticks were placed on their pointed ends. People believed the horns were those of a unicorn, a mythical creature then regarded as a symbol of the Virgin’s chastity. They are, in actual fact, the teeth of a narwhal, a type of whale.

  • Artwork typenarwalhoorn, tooth (material)
  • Object numberNG-NM-2810
  • Dimensionslength 142.5 cm x diameter 6 cm
  • Physical characteristicsnarwal-ivoor

Identification

  • Title(s)

    Unicorn horns

  • Object type

  • Object number

    NG-NM-2810

  • Description

    Lange, smalle, spits toelopende narwaltand. Spiraalvormige groeven. In de bovenkant een gat geboord.

Creation

  • Creation

    maker: anonymous, Noordwest-Europa

  • Dating

    c. 1000 - c. 1099

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Material and technique

  • Physical description

    narwal-ivoor

  • Dimensions

    length 142.5 cm x diameter 6 cm

This work is about

  • Subject

  • Place

  • Period

    1000 - 1100

Acquisition and rights

Documentation

    • Literatuur: D. van der Kellen, 'Het Nederlandsch Museum voor Geschiedenis en Kunst te 's Gravenhage', Eigen Haard (1879), p. 70.
    • Documentatiemap.

Persistent URL

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