Who made this?
Ivory tusks are the elongated upper incisors of elephants and are composed of a collagen-infused material called dentine. The ivory used during the Middle Ages was typically used from the African Savannah elephant. Artisans aimed to maximize the use of high-quality dentine on the interior while avoiding both the hollow pulp cavity and the drier material on the exterior, called cementum. These natural features, along with the tapering cone-like shape of the tusk, limited the possible shapes an artist was able to fashion from a tusk.
It is believed that many ivory objects that were traded within the Southern Mediterranean were created in royal workshops, particularly in Spain and Italy. As ivory was re-introduced to the rest of Europe throughout the crusades by the Muslims, their occupation of Spain in 711 caused an influx of the material throughout many workshops throughout the continent. Due to the heavy influence of Islamic design and detailing throughout this box, it is believed that this ivory object was created by a Muslim artisan in an Italian workshop.