Reference Number: D8415

Beautiful narwhal tusk from the latter part of the 19th century (with Cites certificate), 176cm long and showing superb patina, tastefully converted into an elegant floor lamp. Some medieval Europeans believed narwhal tusks to be the horns from the legendary unicorn. As these horns were considered to have magic powers such as neutralising poison and curing melancholia, Vikings and other northern traders were able to sell them for many times their weight in gold. The tusks were used to make cups that were thought to negate any poison that may have been slipped into the drink. In 1555 Olaus Magnus published a drawing of a fish-like creature with a horn on its forehead correctly identifying it as a "Narwhal". During the 16th century Queen Elizabeth I received a carved and bejewelled narwhal tusk worth 10,000 British Pounds (the cost of a castle) from Sir Humphrey Gilbert who proposed the tusk was from a "sea-unicorn". The tusks were staples of the cabinet of curiosities. European knowledge of the tusk's origin developed gradually during the Age of Exploration as explorers and naturalists began to visit Arctic regions themselves.