The Oldenburg Horn () is a mid 15th-century

drinking horn A drinking horn is the horn of a bovid used as a drinking vessel. Drinking horns are known from Classical Antiquity, especially the Balkans, and remained in use for ceremonial purposes throughout the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period in ...

with House of Oldenburg associations, made of gilded silver richly decorated with enamel, now on display in Rosenborg Castle in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark.

History

In the 13th and 14th centuries, drinking horns were treasured objects and prized heirlooms among the elite. It was not uncommon for them to be regularly recycled inside close families and kin-groups. The Oldenburg Horn stands out from these earlier drinking horns, being the first such horn in Denmark not made from a bovine horn. It was made for Christian I of Denmark by an unknown silversmith in around 1465. It is believed that he intended to use it as a gift to the

Three Kings The biblical Magi from Middle Persian ''moɣ''(''mard'') from Old Persian ''magu-'' 'Zoroastrian clergyman' ( or ; singular: ), also referred to as the (Three) Wise Men or (Three) Kings, also the Three Magi were distinguished foreigners in the G ...

Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (german: Kölner Dom, officially ', English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a Catholic cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese of ...

on his journey to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1474–1475. Some sources state that he brought it back with him. In 1690, it was transferred from Oldenburg to Copenhagen by

Christian V Christian V (15 April 1646 25 August 1699) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the decree ...

for inclusion in the Royal Collections at Rosenborg Castle. In 1939, Rosenborg Castle was opened to the public.

Description

The horn is made of gilded silver and enamel, richly decorated with architectural motifs, inscriptions and Christian I's many coats of arms.

Legend

A legend used to date the horn to the year 989: when Otto, 1st Count of Oldenburg became thirsty, on a hunting excursion with his men, he said, "Oh God, I wish I had something to drink". An elf maiden suddenly appeared. In 1862, Frederik Storch painted a scene illustrating the legend. It is now in the collection of the

National Gallery of Denmark The National Gallery of Denmark ( da, Statens Museum for Kunst, also known as "SMK", literally State Museum for Art) is the Danish national gallery, located in the centre of Copenhagen. The museum collects, registers, maintains, researches and han ...

Gallery

File:Det Oldenborgske Horn 01.jpg, Old print presenting the Otto I legend File:F.L. Storch - Grev Otto af Oldenborg og det oldenborgske horn - KMS850 - Statens Museum for Kunst.jpg, Frederik Storch's 1862 painting of the Otto I legend. File:Corne ancienne, du Musée de Danemark.jpg, Augustin François Lemaître:

References

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