You decide, we display!
You've voted! The winner of our online voting for the special exhibit"Myths and Superstition. Paper and papyri on the supernatural" is "New observations on the unicorn". The winning object is expected to be on display from 17 January to 19 March 2023 in the State Hall and at an expert lecture on 24 January 2023.
Object 1: New observations on the unicorn
Book with copper engravings, 1678
Unicorn horns were among the most sought-after objects in 16th and 17th century princely collections and curiosity cabinets. The two prominent Danish physicians Ole Worm and Thomas Bartholin established that the supposed horns of this miraculous animal were actually the tusks of the narwhal – but was there any proof that a land unicorn had never existed? And couldn't a narwhal horn still have the same healing power that was attributed to that of the unicorn? Bartholin addressed these questions in his book De unicornu observationes novae. In the second edition of the work, in addition to the narwhal and other real and legendary horned creatures, he also described a case from his medical practice, a patient with a skin horn.
