Narwhal's tusk

The narwhal's tusk on display belongs to the Manfredo Settala Collection. The tusk is the animal's upper incisor and it is characteristic of male specimens. For a long time, this particular spiral tooth has inspired myths connected to the fantastic creature of the unicorn and those connected to the special anti-venom properties of the horn itself, becoming part of the Wunderkammer widespread in the 17th century. It was the Danish doctor and scholar of Arctic fauna Ole Worm, contemporary of Manfredo Settala, to first identify the tusk with that of a marine animal.