These different specimens represent, in my opinion, the most satisfactory view of the art industry of ivory carving during the 10th and 11th centuries. Several other examples of oriental carving in ivory still exist in Spain in the shrines of different cathedrals; others of less artistic interest may be seen at the Archæological Museum at Madrid. These caskets are for the most part not ornamented with carvings in relief, but are decorated with inscriptions painted in gold and colours. The most important are:—
A large casket at the Archæological Museum of Madrid, decorated with painting in red and green, and a fine inscription in Cufic characters.
A similar casket at the same museum, decorated with a design painted in green, red, and blue; an inscription in cufic letters runs round a band in the upper part.
"Made by Mohammad Ben Assarag."
An ivory casket at the Real Academia de la Historia at Madrid, with an ornamentation and inscription painted in the style of the former ones and the shield of arms of the Kings of Aragon. The inscription reproduces several Suras of the Koran, and the arms of the house of Aragon were probably added when the casket came into the possession of some person belonging to the family.
A casket exists at the Church of Santo Domingo de Silos (province of Burgos), which merits a special mention on account of what has remained to us of the inscription.
This casket is 13¼ inches long by 7½ inches wide and high. It is ornamented in part with foliage and flowers in the moresque style, alternating with hunting subjects, men shooting with bows and arrows, riding upon lions, fantastic animals and leopards mounted on the back of bulls. The work is inferior in art to the caskets at Pamplona and South Kensington. On a band which runs round the four sides of the lid is an inscription in Cufic characters, of which unfortunately the two longer sides have been destroyed, and have been substituted at a very early period by bands of cloisonné enamel, evidently belonging to other caskets. On the two sides an inscription remains, upon which may be read the year Hegira 417 (A.D. 1026); the name of the artist who carved it, Mohammad Ibn Zeiyan, and the two first letters of the town in which it was made (probably Cuenca)
".....for its owner (may God lengthen his days.) It was made in the town of Cu[enca] in the year 417. (A.D. 1025.) By Mohammad—ibn Zeiyan, his servant. May God glorify him."