The Danny Jewel
Pendant
ca. 1550 (made)
ca. 1550 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Renaissance pendants were sometimes made as amulets as a protection against danger. At that time people believed that the horn of the dolphin-like narwhal came from unicorns. They valued it highly as a detector of poison in food and drink. This pendant formerly belonged to the Campion family of Danny in Sussex.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Danny Jewel (popular title) |
| Materials and techniques | Enamelled gold and narwhal tusk |
| Brief description | Pendant, 'The Danny Jewel', enamelled gold and a section of Narwhal's tusk, England, ca.1550. |
| Physical description | Pendant, 'The Danny Jewel',in the shape of a ship, with a semi-circular section of a narwhal's tusk mounted in enamelled gold suspended by three chains from a ring |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Bryan Bequest |
| Object history | There is substantial loss of enamel on both sides and one side has lost the goldwork which would have covered the orifice. The central boss on the other side may have been removed, re-enamelled and replaced. The number of nineteenth-century pieces made in Renaissance style makes a judgement cautious, but in the reassessments of the last forty years the Danny Jewel has continued to be considered an object made in the sixteenth century. |
| Summary | Renaissance pendants were sometimes made as amulets as a protection against danger. At that time people believed that the horn of the dolphin-like narwhal came from unicorns. They valued it highly as a detector of poison in food and drink. This pendant formerly belonged to the Campion family of Danny in Sussex. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.97-1917 |
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| Record created | December 9, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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