![Afbeeldinge van alle de stercke steden die anno 1672 binnen de tydt van 2 maenden aen de France etc zyn overgegaen [en] d' 17 Neederlantse Proventie met de aengrensende landen als Vranckryck Ceule Munst. etc.](https://iiif.micr.io/BCiEU/full/^640,1080/0/default.webp)
Getting started with the collection:
Unicorn horns
anonymous, c. 1000 - c. 1099
For centuries, these 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-2808
- Dimensionslength 139 cm
- Physical characteristicsnarwal-ivoor