The casket is made from carved ivory and bone. All the visible faces have carvings, and standing sword-wielding men in turbans are placed at the corners. The wider faces have animals and hunters with spears. The only woman shown (end to the left of the missing lock) is inside a curtained
howdah on a camel. The style derives from
Fatimid art, but the casket was probably made in
Norman Sicily. It is similar to carvings on the ceiling of the
Cappella Palatina in
Palermo, and boxes in other collections.[1][2] The structure of the casket is itself made up of nine panels, four of which make up the body while five make up the lid.[1]
It is 8 7/8 in. (22.3 cm) high, 15 3/16 in. (38.6 cm) wide, and 7 7/8 in. (20 cm) deep.[3]
It was part of the donation by
J. P. Morgan in 1917.
Another ivory casket in the
Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin is more or less the same size as the Morgan Casket but misses both the 'balustrade' along the lower edge, and the corner figures. This casket is said to originate from
Speyer Cathedral.
Various
olifants in museum collections worldwide are carved similarly and may originate from the same workshop.
^Lid: H. 2 3/4 in. (7 cm); W. 14 5/16 in. (36.4 cm); D. 8 1/16 in. (20.5 cm); Container: H. 5 5/16 in. (13.5 cm); W. 15 3/16 in. (38.6 cm), D. 8 7/8 in. (22.5 cm), per MET
The casket is made from carved ivory and bone. All the visible faces have carvings, and standing sword-wielding men in turbans are placed at the corners. The wider faces have animals and hunters with spears. The only woman shown (end to the left of the missing lock) is inside a curtained
howdah on a camel. The style derives from
Fatimid art, but the casket was probably made in
Norman Sicily. It is similar to carvings on the ceiling of the
Cappella Palatina in
Palermo, and boxes in other collections.[1][2] The structure of the casket is itself made up of nine panels, four of which make up the body while five make up the lid.[1]
It is 8 7/8 in. (22.3 cm) high, 15 3/16 in. (38.6 cm) wide, and 7 7/8 in. (20 cm) deep.[3]
It was part of the donation by
J. P. Morgan in 1917.
Another ivory casket in the
Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin is more or less the same size as the Morgan Casket but misses both the 'balustrade' along the lower edge, and the corner figures. This casket is said to originate from
Speyer Cathedral.
Various
olifants in museum collections worldwide are carved similarly and may originate from the same workshop.
^Lid: H. 2 3/4 in. (7 cm); W. 14 5/16 in. (36.4 cm); D. 8 1/16 in. (20.5 cm); Container: H. 5 5/16 in. (13.5 cm); W. 15 3/16 in. (38.6 cm), D. 8 7/8 in. (22.5 cm), per MET