This Italian horn or cornicello is cast of sterling silver, it is a solid sterling casting not hollow. The gracefully curved amulet is topped with an ornate crown that is graced with a little fleur de lis in the center to support the cast on bail.
About The Cornicello (Little Horn) The Italian horn is an amulet of ancient origin. The name cornicello refers to a long, gently twisted horn-shaped amulet worn to protect against the evil eye. The type of horn they are intended to copy is like the twisted horn of an African eland or similar antelope. They are primarily found in Italy and in America among descendents of Italian immigrants. These little horns are presumed to have once been sacred to the Old European moon goddess, before the rise of Christianity. Some modern evangelical Catholics disparage their continued use among Italian Catholics and refer to them as "Satan's horns" or "Lucifer's horns" but this is absolutely nonsense, as they were always seen as the horns of the moon goddess -- and hence, in Catholic symbolism, would be related to the Virgin Mary, who is shown standing on a lunar crescent. The evil eye is believed to harm nursing mothers and their babies, bearing fruit trees, milking animals, and the sperm of men -- the forces of generation. The custom of making Italian horn charms from silver (formerly sacred to the moon goddess Luna) hints at the cultural survival of a link between the horned animal head and ancient worship of a fertility-goddess.
