Wander Lord

Interesting on art, nature, people, history

Interesting Horns

Interesting Horns

Interesting Horns


Horns are hard structures growing from the animals’ heads. Most horned animals, for example, sheep, cattle, goats, and antelope, also have hooves. Horns vary greatly in size and shape. They are attached to the bone of an animal’s head. Horns are made of keratin, the same material that makes up hooves, hair, fingernails, and feathers. Horns grow in pairs as the animals get older.
Animals use horns as weapons to protect themselves from enemies and in battles with other animals of their kind.
Hornlike antlers, which are not true horns, grow from the heads of deer, elk, and moose. Antlers are bone with a velvety covering and they fall off every year.

The single horn of a rhinoceros is actually made of hardened hairs that are tightly bunched together.
White-tailed deer

White-tailed deer


Horn of plenty, or a cornucopia, is considered one of the most valuable amulets. It appeared 25 centuries ago. Even the ancient Greeks considered it a symbol of wealth and longed to have it. Horn of plenty was always associated with prosperity and well-being. This ancient amulet attracts luck and wealth to its owner.
Fortuna, the goddess of happiness, destiny and fortune, was portrayed as a woman with a cornucopia in her hands. The cornucopia is a symbol of the Nile River.
The cornucopia is a common heraldic element embodying all the blessings of Mother Earth. The coat of arms of Colombia, in particular, depicts a classic cornucopia full of flowers and exotic fruits typical of this country, and one more, with gold coins. A golden cornucopia is also on the coat of arms of Peru. The coat of arms of Venezuela depicts two crossed cornucopias. The same motif is repeated on the Panama emblem and on the coat of arms of Mendoza province in Argentina.
In many primitive traditions, the horn symbolizes power. The horned tiara in Sumer is a symbol of supreme power, since the bull was considered the embodiment of power and the image of the supreme god.
Vrubel Mikhail Alexandrovich. Pan. 1899

Vrubel Mikhail Alexandrovich. Pan. 1899


The horn is a solar and lunar symbol at the same time, it is a part of the attributes of both the gods of the sun and the gods of the moon. Horned gods symbolize warriors, fertility for both humans and animals.
Drinking horns have been known since antiquity. It is known that the knights drank wine from the horns of rams, and high-ranking persons – from bison’s horns. In the Middle Ages drinking horns were made of metals and glass, but their popularity remained unchanged. Drinking horns were used for ceremonial rituals throughout the Middle Ages and later in parts of Europe, mainly in Germanic cultures and in the Caucasus.

Interesting Horns

Viking

Viking

Velez, Volos, Blasius

Velez, Volos, Blasius

Tragelaphus strepsiceros

Tragelaphus strepsiceros

The armed horns, the sculptures by Peter Gronquist

The armed horns, the sculptures by Peter Gronquist

Stunning horns

Stunning horns

Siberian ibex

Siberian ibex

Scandinavian goddess Sif with a horn for drinking, 1893

Scandinavian goddess Sif with a horn for drinking, 1893

Reindeer

Reindeer

Red deer

Red deer

Racka - sheep breed

Racka – sheep breed

Michelangelo Buonarroti. Moses, detail

Michelangelo Buonarroti. Moses, detail

Markhor

Markhor

Margaret Griffith

Margaret Griffith

Magnificent drinking horn

Magnificent drinking horn

Lovely drinking horn

Lovely drinking horn

Longhorns

Longhorns

Kevin Smith. Angels and Nephilim

Kevin Smith. Angels and Nephilim

Image of the Horned God. Celtic mythology

Image of the Horned God. Celtic mythology

Horns, according to legend, adorned the ancestor of the ancient Egyptian civilization, Thoth

Horns, according to legend, adorned the ancestor of the ancient Egyptian civilization, Thoth

Horns of plenty

Horns of plenty

Horned skulls

Horned skulls

Horned reptile

Horned reptile

Horned man

Horned man

Helmet with horns

Helmet with horns

Gorgeous drinking horn

Gorgeous drinking horn

Goat with four horns

Goat with four horns

Gemsbok

Gemsbok

Fortuna, the goddess of happiness, destiny and fortune

Fortuna, the goddess of happiness, destiny and fortune

Elk

Elk

Drinking horn of Sigismund I, Luxembourg, before 1408

Drinking horn of Sigismund I, Luxembourg, before 1408

Drinking horn made in the middle of the 16th by master Albert Jacobs Kanter

Drinking horn made in the middle of the 16th by master Albert Jacobs Kanter

Drinking horn from Hochdorf, an iron horn with a gold ornament

Drinking horn from Hochdorf, an iron horn with a gold ornament

Dermot took the horn and would have filled it

Dermot took the horn and would have filled it

Deity with horns

Deity with horns

Charming drinking horns

Charming drinking horns

Bullion stone is a Pict stone with the image of a mounted warrior who drinks from a large horn. Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh

Bullion stone is a Pict stone with the image of a mounted warrior who drinks from a large horn. Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh

Buffalo

Buffalo

Blackbuck

Blackbuck

Beautiful drinking horns

Beautiful drinking horns

Awesome horns

Awesome horns

Attractive drinking horn

Attractive drinking horn

Ankole-Watusi

Ankole-Watusi

Amazing drinking horn

Amazing drinking horn

African Carved Ram's Horn Cup with Lions and Mounted Rider

African Carved Ram’s Horn Cup with Lions and Mounted Rider

A copy of the Wonderful Horn from Oldenburger, Hamburg

A copy of the Wonderful Horn from Oldenburger, Hamburg