What is this?
This pen box celebrates many elements of animal iconography, particularly from Africa, this object's place of origin. Through detailed depictions of boars, lions, gazelles, and cranes, the designer of this box synthesized animals from Africa with Islamic, symmetrical designs. Medieval art showing exotic animals served as diplomatic gifts to European rulers or could be brought back as treasure from pilgrimage or Crusade. Both the material of ivory and the images of African animals commemorate the legacy of Africa in cultural items significant to the Crusades.
As we can see, the underneath inscription of the box's owner (Taurus) featured the African gazelle with scratches, most likely from battle. The depiction of predators and prey attests to an entire tradition of fantastic and exotic subjects often associated with the pleasures of the princely life. Not only was this box a demonstration of royalty through literacy, but the exotic animals also suggest worldliness through travel and trade. The designs on the ivory featuring birds of prey, gazelles, and lions against the detailed background suggest that iconographic and technical comparisons can be found in Egyptian wood carvings of the Fatimid period.
Upon close inspection, it is apparent that each animal is aligned in perfect symmetry, a style of design that was popularized in Islamic art. The cranes on this piece are quite literally intertwined, while the boars demonstrate closeness by holding the same intertwined object. The naturalistic leaf background on this object also helps to contextualize these animals in their own habitat (natural) while being created on the materials of another animal from their place of origin (the elephant).