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A Bibulous Bounty of Drinking Horns |
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| What a great invention was the drinking horn! Perfect for a Viking-style post-raid party! Made from the horn of an ox, cow, ur-beast, these drinking vessels hold a lot of wine, mead, beer, whatever. Because the horn is shaped like an inverted cone, tapering to a point at the bottom (handy weapon for barroom brawls?), it has no flat bottom on which one can rest the thing. True, metal stands have been crafted, but their place is the museum display shelf; the true barbarian eschews such cultured niceties, opting instead to just guzzle the contents at once. (Modern analog: the beer bong, q.v.) |
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Here are three drinking horns I made over the years. Of particular interest is the horn with the removable mollusc shell lid, anti-slosh leather seal and life-like, spring-action toggle locking mechanism. A higher form of the art, I refer to it as a "reliquary rhyton". A rhyton is a drinking vessel that resembles an upright horn, and although mine actually is a horn, the term lends an air of cultivation, don't you think? Indeed, in this piece I believe I have elevated the status of an old Norse weapon of debauchery to that of Christian eikona. If you look closely at the photos, you may notice that set beneath the bezelled glass cabochons are a couple of old, frayed pieces of fabric -- by Saint Swithin's bones, those are holy relics! If intemperance be thy vice, drink on! Surely pieces of the original Macintosh of Jonah will protect you, regardless of what you decide to swallow down. Expecting a whale of a hang-over the morning after? Never fear my friend, you've got the relic! |
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-- Brian Zegarski |
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Click on a thumbnail for a larger view... |
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