Dragon's Head
Unknown Artist
1100–1150
Medium
walrus ivory
Dimensions
h. 6.4 cm
Classification
Ivory
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Thomas P. Miller in memory of James J. Rorimer
Accession Number
1975.258
About this artwork
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.