Afro-Portuguese Ivories: musical horn
- Gallery: Room 25
- Made in: Nigeria
- Date: 1525-1600 (circa)
- Object type: musical horn
- Materials: elephant ivory
- Museum number: Af1959,14.2
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
This is an Afro-Portuguese ivory musical horn, beautifully carved from elephant ivory. In your view are striking geometric and figurative motifs in low relief, detailing the surface of the horn. Look closely—you’ll notice intricate patterns along with carved figures and symbols.
From the base up, the decor includes an armillary sphere inside a repeating "step" design typical of the Benin style. Follow the imagery to see a European man with long hair, blowing a long horn—suggesting musical use. Another motif is a Portuguese coat of arms, hinting at the cultural connections of the time.
The horn was carved in Nigeria by the Edo people, between 1525 and 1600. It was later purchased in 1924 from a well-known dealer named Irene Marguerite Beasley. The piece originally had silver fittings, now missing, and may have once been associated with European nobility.
See it in person
Afro-Portuguese Ivories: musical horn is on display in Room 25 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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