Tuesday 20th May
16:30 - 18:00 BST / 17.30 - 19:00 CET (online)

Moonhorns (transl. from German ‘Mondhorn’ ) are late bronze age ceramic objects found particularly in Switzerland. They look like crescent moons or bull horns, hence their German name - Mondhorn. Moonhorns are a mystery in archaeology. Virtually nothing is known about them, except their rough age and location in which they must have held some relevance and purpose. Some archaeologists speculate that moonhors could be altar objects, neck supports, fire blocks or perhaps early instruments for recognising star constellations. Some connect them to fertility rituals, believing they could have held importance for women in particular. Many speculations exist, but nobody actually knows what the moonhorns were used for or the context in which they once existed.

Rather than finding answers Leonie Brandner wants to use moonhorns as tools to speculate. How do we deal with an object that defies logic and interpretation? And how do we deal with having no answers?

Leonie is seeking to have an open conversation, speculation, association around moonhorns, to learn to understand them (more or maybe less) in a wider context of archeological artefacts and discourse. How does archeology as a field of knowledge categories objects that throw up more questions than they answer? What is the relevance of objects whose purpose is unidentifiable? And where do these objects live in archeological discourse?

Leonie Brandner is interested in the potential relevance of moonhorns in a contemporary conversation as much as in past times. She is also intrigued about the symbolism moonhorns undoubtedly evoke, reverberating both of celestial and animal bodies. In a meeting with the A-H-A group she seeks to learn more about potential rites around the moon and horns,  particularly how horns and antlers permeated cultures in early civilisations as much as gaining a broader understanding of how contemporary archeology deals with knowledge that is out of reach. 

Leonie Brandner is a Swiss artist living in the Netherlands. She explores with expansive installations, text, songs and performance uncertainties and the fleeting feeling of being part of an unstable system. She weaves personal stories with ecological themes and ancient myths to create narratives that are not linear but multilayered. Her works are delicate vessels for fragile orders – they shimmer, vibrate, and remain in constant motion.

She holds a BA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art in London and an MA in Artistic Research from the Royal Academy in The Hague. During her MA, she developed a growing interest in plants, health, and the stories we create to connect—not only with one another but also with the land, the past, and the future. To expand her practice, she completed an advanced course in Ethnobotany and Ethnomedicine at the University of Zurich in 2022. In 2024 she has published her first book in collaboration with Onomatopee.

Leonie Brandner has spent 3 months at the European Ceramic Institute making her own miniature and large scale interpretations of moonhorns - a project that is accompanying her for the coming year.

This event is hosted on zoom - Please register HERE