Sicilian carved ivory pestle and mortar

Sculpture/ Pestle and mortar. The mortar is decorated with bands of ornament: a) at the top: a plain rim; b) a band of stylised foliated scroll-work with three medallions, each containing a fabulous beast with a foliated tail: c) a band of key-hole ornament; d) a band of stylised foliated scroll-work with four medallions, each containing a rosette. Around the thick short stem the mortar has several mouldings, including another band of key-hole pattern.The pestle handle is decorated with a scale pattern with a band (at the top and bottom) of key-hole pattern. A bulbous knob terminates the handle, and is carved with a triangular pattern. Ivory elaborately carved, height, pestle, 8.0 in, height, mortar, 5 1/4 in, diameter, mortar at top, 2 3/4 in, diameter, mortar at bottom, 2 7/8 in. Circa 1700-1800. Production Place: Sicily.

Image data

• Accession Number: M.40 & A-1940
• Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
• Aperture: f/45.0
• Focal length: 120
• Camera: Hasselblad H3DII-31
• Photographer name: Andrew Norman
• Image height: 768 pixels
• Image width: 1024 pixels
• Processed with: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.4 (Windows)
• Filesize: 95.72kB
• Exposure time: 1/60
• ISO Speed: 100
• Fnumber: 45/1
• Captured: 2013:01:29 16:43:09

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