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Source Description
This exceedingly rare medieval carving, which recalls the more monumental carvings on Viking ship prows, may have been a finial for a diagonal member of a folding chair. The character of the head, the stylized acanthus leaves, and the foliage-spouting mask on the neck are characteristic of north European and Anglo-Norman Romanesque styles.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
148289
label
Dragon's Head
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
148289
contentType
object
title
Dragon's Head
description
This exceedingly rare medieval carving, which recalls the more monumental carvings on Viking ship prows, may have been a finial for a diagonal member of a folding chair. The character of the head, the stylized acanthus leaves, and the foliage-spouting mask on the neck are characteristic of north European and Anglo-Norman Romanesque styles.
date
1100–1150
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60744162
genreSpecific
Ivory
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 6.4 cm (2 1/2 in.)
cul
Anglo-Norman?, Romanesque period, 12th century
accession
1975.258
Source extras
tec
walrus ivory
tombstone
Dragon's Head, 1100–1150. Anglo-Norman?, Romanesque period, 12th century. Walrus ivory; overall: 6.4 cm (2 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Thomas P. Miller in memory of James J. Rorimer, 1975.258
collection
MED - Romanesque
citations
citation
Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1975.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 63, no. 2 (February 1976): 31–71.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 35; Mentioned: p. 66, no. 48
citation
Wixom, William D. “Eleven Additions to the Medieval Collection.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 66, no. 3 (Mar/Apr 1979): 87–151.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 94, figs. 17-18
citation
Gertsman, Elina and Barbara H. Rosenwein. <em>The Middle Ages in 50 Objects</em>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 68-71; Reproduced: p. 69
creditline
Gift of Thomas P. Miller in memory of James J. Rorimer
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:37:22.391000
sourceId
148289
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Romanesque
med
walrus ivory
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
ac24e0a56c0efdc2