Ivory Box

This rather large, rectangular casket is made of strips of elephant tusk, sliced into long flat plaques, which were then attached to a wooden core with small metal nails. The entire casket is secured with the addition of metal mounts running along the edges, incised with a band of interlacing strapwork which parallels the ivory carving running along the casket’s upper edge. The ivory plaques consist of large carved roundels, each containing a bird of prey (falcon or eagle) and a gazelle, either singly or in groups. The motif of the bird of prey alighting on the back of a quadruped commonly appears in the art of contemporary Fatimid Egypt (on both glass and rock crystal) and connotes symbols of power, domination, and even Islam’s conquest over its Christian counterparts. Produced in southern Italy, after the region had already reverted back to Christianity, these motifs reflect the widespread admiration amongst the Norman nobility for the Islamic aesthetic, which was further perpetuated in royal foundations, such as the Cappella Palatina in Palermo. This casket would have been used for storing jewels or other precious possessions.