From a 1566 manuscript of a bestiary by Manuel Philes (Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, Paris, ms. 3401), this illustration of a unicorn follows Ctesias's description, as it came down through Aelian and Pliny to the Middle Ages.
The oryx can appear to have one horn...it actually has two.
An etching by Sidney Hall showing several constellations, including Monoceros the Unicorn. This was an illustration in Jehosaphat Aspin's A Familiar Treatise on Astronomy..., from 1825. Library of Congress.
A photo of narwhals with their horn-like tusks above the water.
An old pharmacy in Pilzen, Czech Republic, which still has its unicorn sign.
This painting by Raphael was done in about 1506. The small size of the unicorn is explained by the fact that Raphael apparently originally painted a lap-dog, and later replaced it by painting it over with a unicorn. Later still, a St. Catherine's Wheel was painted over the unicorn. The unicorn was revealed by restoration in the 1930s, and the underlying dog was discovered in the 1950s.
This tapestry fragment, showing a naked wild woman and a unicorn, dates to about 1500. It was used as a chair-back cover in Alsace, on the Upper Rhine. It is currently in the historical Museum of Basel
This engraving shows a unicorn cleaning a poisoned pool with its horn. Serpents, the traditional poisoners of the water, can be seen fleeing from the unicorn.
This tapestry, currently at the Cloisters Museum in New York, was woven in Belgium in about 1500. It shows the unicorn healing a poisoned stream with its horn, while other animals, as well as the encroaching hunting-party, look on.
Fresco of a maiden and unicorn by Domenichino, ca. 1602.
"À mon seul désir" is the sixth and last of a series of tapestries designed in France and woven in Flanders in the late 15th century. It has been interpreted as representing love or understanding; the other five in the series represent the five senses. Each of the six tapestries depicts a noble lady with the unicorn on her left and a lion on her right; some include a monkey as well.
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom, showing the English Lion and the Scottish Unicorn.
This illustration by Carl Offterdinger (1829-1889) was for “The Valiant Little Tailor.” It shows one traditional way to capture or kill a unicorn: getting the beast to ram its horn into a tree.
Frieze from Persepolis showing a lion attacking a beast with one visible horn.
LP jacket for The Unicorn by The Irish Rovers. The title track, a song written by Shel Silverstein, went to number 7 on the charts.
DVD case for The Last Unicorn, the film made from Peter S. Beagle's novel of the same title.