#oliphant

[illustratus]

Proud Roland did at length sound his horn (The Song of Roland)

[medieval-elephants]

Elephant on Oliphant

I heard you like elephants, so here's an elephant on an elephant (ivory) to make an oliphant...

I had a great time in the Victoria and Albert Museum's early medieval gallery the other day, looking at the ivories. There were so many fascinating pieces on display. One of the largest items was this oliphant, or ivory horn, made in the south of the Italian peninsula about 1000 years ago.

Detail of an elephant, lion, antelope(?), birds, and other animals, V&A Sculpture Collection 7953-1862

The material is a testament to the long-distance ivory trade (or at least continued access to ivory). The design also shows how ideas-- and possibly people-- traveled. The style ivory carving (with delicate animals in framed compartments) is reminiscent of that found throughout the Islamic Mediterranean, from the Iberian Peninsula to Egypt. Indeed, some argue that this piece might have been made by ivory workers who moved from Egypt to southern Italy.

Content: horn (oliphant) Material: ivory Date: c. 1000-1100 Origin: southern Italy (Amalfi? Salerno?) Now London, Victoria and Albert Museum, Sculpture Collection 7953-1862

[artifacts-archive]

Oliphant

Italy, Fatimid dynasty, 11-12th century

About 30 specimens of these carved ivory horns have survived, though exclusively in collections located outside the Islamic world. The horns are believed to have been made for European patrons, but are attributed to Fatimid craftsmen working in the artistic centres of the Norman kingdom of southern Italy and Sicily. The horns also show close parallels in style and iconography to the ivory caskets made in Sicily and southern Italy during the same period. The ivory used for these objects was most probably imported from North Africa. The term oliphant occurs for the first time in the French poem of 'Chanson de Roland' (probably written 1075–1100). The poem describes the horn that Roland, commander of the Frankish king, used when he called Charlemagne (747–814) to come to Roncesvalles to help him against the advancing Muslims. Above all, ivory horns were symbols of honour and were used by dignitaries as signal horns. Ivory horns decorated with representations of animals were possibly used for hunting, though it is not known in what way.

[humidcitrusgrove]

Pat Oliphant's work satirizing a very tired, overused narrative that's been around for over 40 years now.

10/30/81

[theworldsoftolkein]

[animentality]

"what is an oliphant?"

- me as a kid

"oh it's an elephant with an abnormal amount of tusks."

- me ten minutes later

[thranduilofsmirkwood]

LOTR + Relationship Memes

The Hobbit + Relationship Memes

[jonathanx]

Oliphant series. With @sweetchaosphotos #joncalderasphotography #oliphant #lgbt #lgbtq🌈 #ohiomodel #bdsmart #fetishart #leather https://www.instagram.com/p/Co4v8OFO1tn/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=