Baton with engraved reindeer and horses
La Madeleine, Dordogne France.
Antler
Length: 26.3 cms
The British Museum
Palart.306
This baton fragment is decorated so that the pairs of horses on one side and red deer stags on the other animals all faced in towards the perforation that was broken off in ancient times. The way in which the legs of all the animals and antlers of the deer are positioned so that that they do not overlap but make the best possible use of the space indicates that this skilful composition was preconceived for this large antler that must have come from a magnificent stag such as those depicted on the baton.
The pointed shape of the faces indicates that these are red deer. They are shown walking with their tails raised. The horses are similarly shown walking calmly one behind the other. They are more deeply engraved than the stags and appear to be female. All the animals are shown as large as is possible without overlap, producing a beautifully composition that is almost impossible to see in one plane. The individual figures are well proportioned and drawn with confidence by a practised hand. It would appear that this artistic masterpiece was inspired by antlers of a great stag and was perhaps conceived to do justice to nature.