Context (Other owners)
Collected by Mr Lucas of Brighton and dontaed by Mrs E. Holden.
Event Date
Author: Guey-Mei Hsu

Context (References)
Cf.
Cammann, Schuyler V. R. (1950) "The Story of Hornbill Ivory." Museum Bulletin XV, no. 4 : 19-47. Accessed April 10, 2025. https://www.penn.museum/sites/bulletin/3367/
Event Date 12/1950
Author: Guey-Mei Hsu

Context (Related Documents)
Catalogue card handwritten in blue ball point pen reads, '52.61 A-B ASIA, CHINA. / Two carved skulls of the Helmeted Hornbill. The carving will have been carried out in China by ivory carvers. The helmeted hornbill is not indigenous to China, but has a range from Tenasserum in Lower Burma, and Southern Siam, down the Malay Peninsula and out to the Islands of Borneo and Sumatra. The first record of hornbill ivory in China dates from 1371 when Mahommed Shah, King of North Borneo, sent some pieces in tribute to the Ming court. Elaborate carvings of the ivory 'in situ', retaining the skull appear to date from the Ch'ing Dynasty, probably 18th century.

The intricate carvings represent scenes from Chinese history or romance. [...]
d.d. Mrs E. Holden (bought by her from the collection of the Late Mr Lucas of Brighton). See bulletin of University Museum, Pensylvania [sic] Univerity, Philadelphia, Vol. 15. No. 4 P. 19.'
Event Date 1952
Author: Guey-Mei Hsu

Description (Physical description)
Catalogue card for 1952.61 A-B handwritten in blue ball point pen reads, 'Two carved skulls of the helmeted hornbill. [...] The backs of the heads are made up with parrot and other brightly coloured feathers and large glass eyes are inserted in the sockets.
A: Length from top of beak to back of skull 8 1/2 ins. This has the finer carving. The head is broken of one figure at the top of the scene.
B: Length from top of beak to the back of skull 9 ins. Upper part carved in trees and pagodas. Human figures in centre and foreground.'
Event Date 1952
Author: Guey-Mei Hsu