The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Dragon's Head

1100–1150

Anglo-Norman?, Romanesque period, 12th century

walrus ivory
Overall: 6.4 cm (2 1/2 in.)
Gift of Thomas P. Miller in memory of James J. Rorimer 1975.258
Location: 106C Medieval Treasury

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.
  • Thomas P. Miller, Raleigh, North Carolina.
  • Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1975.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 63, no. 2 (February 1976): 31–71. Reproduced: p. 35; Mentioned: p. 66, no. 48 www.jstor.org
    Wixom, William D. “Eleven Additions to the Medieval Collection.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 66, no. 3 (Mar/Apr 1979): 87–151. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 94, figs. 17-18 www.jstor.org
    Gertsman, Elina and Barbara H. Rosenwein. The Middle Ages in 50 Objects. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. Mentioned: p. 68-71; Reproduced: p. 69
  • Year in Review: 1975. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 3-March 7, 1976).
  • {{cite web|title=Dragon's Head|url=false|author=|year=1100–1150|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1975.258