Cornicello
little horn
3/4", early C20th, gold metal and glass
found by Sara Scobie in a secret compartment in a chest of drawers made by Peter Fotheringhame of Rusness, Sanday
Still worn around the neck by Italian men as a talisman to promote fertility, virility and strength, the cornicello is also linked to the cornucopia of Greek and Roman mythology: the horn of a goat broken of by Zeus and filled with fruit & flowers was a symbol of earth and plentiful growth.
