In large parts of Africa, the elephant is probably the most important royal animal. Its characteristics (size and strength, cleverness, but also social coexistence in a herd under the leadership of the lead cow including "ancestor worship", i.e. dealing with the bones of deceased herd members) symbolize the role of the king. Furthermore, the king possessed an economic ivory monopoly and demanded one of the tusks from each hunted animal. These were a commodity that was also highly sought after by the Europeans. Carved elephant tusks stood in groups on the royal ancestral altars in the palace courtyards. Wealthy burgher families imitated this. European sources first report uncarved tusks on the ancestral heads of burgher altars in 1651. Since 1787 we also know about carved specimens. Text: Dietmar Neitzke.