The Morgan Casket is a medieval-era

casket A casket jewelry box is a container that is usually smaller than a chest, and in the past were typically decorated. Whereas cremation jewelry is a small container, usually in the shape of a pendant or bracelet, to hold a small amount of ashes. ...

from Southern Italy. The casket, attributed to the Fatimid Caliphate, is made from carved

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...

and is dated to the 11th–12th centuries AD.

Description

The casket is made from carved ivory and bone. Said carvings depict sword-wielding men in turbans along with hunters, beasts, and birds; this style of art has been noted to be similar to carvings on the ceiling of the

Cappella Palatina The Palatine Chapel ( it, Cappella Palatina) is the royal chapel of the Norman Palace in Palermo, Sicily. This building is a mixture of Byzantine, Norman and Fatimid architectural styles, showing the tricultural state of Sicily during the 1 ...

in Palermo. The structure of the casket is itself made up of nine panels, four of which make up the body while five make up the lid.

References

Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Containers Ivory works of art {{Met-stub