Cornucopia
The title of this article is ambiguous. For other meanings, see Cornucopia (disambiguation).
The horn of plenty or Latin Cornucopia (Ancient Greek κέρας Ἀμαλθείας keras Amaltheias "horn of Amaltheia", Latin cornu copiae "horn of plenty") is a mythological symbol of good fortune. It is filled with flowers and fruits and stands for fertility, generosity, wealth and abundance.
The cornucopia is a funnel- or bag-shaped wicker basket that may have been used primarily for grape harvesting. In Greek mythology, the cornucopia first belonged to the mythical goat Amaltheia, who raised Zeus with it, but is then also used by the deities of the earth Gaia, of peace Eirene, of fate Tyche (Fortuna) and of wealth Plutos. Of the Old Testament figures it is then especially the prophet Joel who is shown with a cornucopia.
In the representation of the four seasons, the cornucopia is primarily associated with the harvest season of autumn. However, the cornucopia can also be associated with spring, as in the depiction of the Roman Flora, but here it gives way to the flower arrangement in modern depictions, as in Giuseppe Arcimboldo's Flora (late 16th century), Rembrandt's Saskia as Flora (1634) and also still Louis-Marin Bonnet's Tête de Flore (1769) or the Countess Kaganek (1782) by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun. Titian's Flora (c. 1515), however, already holds only a few buds in her hands.
Cornucopias in the claws of eagles. Oil on canvas. By Jan Davidsz. de Heem (The portrait in the middle is probably by Jan Vermeer van Utrecht).
Cornucopia at the feet of allegorical female figures (Hofburg, Vienna)
Cornucopia
Numismatics
In numismatics, the horn of plenty is the symbol for the French mint Établissement Monétaire du Pessac and, from 2007 to 2010, also for the Finnish mint Rahapaja Oy in Vantaa.
