4541B

Coat of Arms of Isabel I of Castile and Fernando II of Aragon (The Catholic Monarchs)

Artist: Unidentified Sapi-Portuguese Artist
Title: Coat of Arms of Isabel I of Castile and Fernando II of Aragon (The Catholic Monarchs)
Date: ca. 1500
Medium: Ivory relief
Location: Ornament on an ivory oliphant, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., USA.
Photo Source: National Museum of African Art Website
Correspondence Credit: Almerindo Ojeda
Note: Given that the coats of arms of the oliphant are of the Catholic Monarchs (reigned 1475-1504) and Manuel I of Portugal (reigned 1495-1521), the dating on this piece could be narrowed to 1495-1502. Bassani and Fagg 1988, 108 propose a different woodcut as the source of the ivory carving, but it is not as similar to the carving as 4541A is.
Item: 4541B