Deer horn chest

Torre Grossa Castle (Jijona) Reconstructed chest with bone plates and metal ornaments h: 26 cm; w: 11 cm; d: 10 cm (restored) Islamic Almohad Late 12th century, first half of the 13th century

A prismatic chest with a wooden core and externally decorated with carved deer-shoof plaques with incised decoration with geometric motifs. The fittings are made of bronze, copper and others of amber, which, taken together, correspond to the hinges, hinges with a lance-shaped finish and ornaments with bird's beak-shaped finials with holes for the nails. The remains of the lock and key, as well as the handle, have been preserved.

In the old excavations carried out in the castle of the Torre Grossa de Jijona, more than a hundred small bone platelets of various sizes were found, together with various fragmented pieces of metal corresponding to iron fittings and hinges, which were published individually but without establishing any association between them (Azuar, 1984). Later, thanks to the study by J.A. López Padilla, it was discovered that they came from a deer antler carving workshop in the same castle, of which the antlers have been preserved in various stages of carving, and the platelets have been identified (López Padilla, 1995). Analysis of the ensemble has made it possible to identify the workshop and to reconstruct the chest (Azuar, López, 1997), whose original shape would be prismatic, with a wooden core, covered with bone platelets and with fittings and a lock, in the style that was widespread in al-Andalus at the end of the 12th century and first half of the 13th century, such as the examples of those found at Alarcos (Ciudad Real), published by M. Casamar (Ciudad Real, 1995, no 128, 282-3) and in the castle of Moura (Portugal), published by S. Macias (1994, 297; Lisbon, 1998, no 66, 103).

C.S.: 8296
AZUAR, R., 1984.
AZUAR, R., LÓPEZ, J.A., 1997.
CIUDAD REAL, 1995.
LÓPEZ PADILLA, J. A., 1995.
LÓPEZ PADILLA, J. A., 1996.
LISBON, 1998.
MACIAS, S., 1993.