Images

https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=DCD6C76FAB83F7D8A3E2B926371F06FFE93EEE47360F562C173BD7D973A9D43D&s=24247294&se=450972956&v=1&f=%5Cd5794%5Cu228057948%5C1916.1611_o2.jpg

https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=A0BCAC7BB6CB72C4BCA4D6FCF4FE52B5E2F6366BA3ADDFA79DB1514E792234CE&s=24247294&se=450972956&v=0&f=1916.1611det00_o2.jpg

Additional Views

Apr 24, 2020

Oct 22, 2010

Pricked Spur

1200s

Spain, 13th century

Steel

Overall: 11.1 x 7.7 cm (4 3/8 x 3 1/16 in.)

Weight: 40 g (1.41 oz.)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1611

Location

210A Armor Court

Did you know?

A knight’s status was closely related to his horse; as a result spurs became a symbol of chivalry and could be given as a token during a knighting.

Description

The spur was an essential part of the knight's equipment. Fastened to his heels by means of straps and buckles, it was used to prod a horse into action. This example represents the oldest type recorded, the "pricked" spur, so-called because its neck terminated in a spike. The pricked spur was replaced during the Middle Ages by the "rowel" spur, with a rotating spiked wheel.

Provenance

?-1916

Frank Gair Macomber; Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art

1916-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Catalogue of Arms and Armour. [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], 1900. cat. #527 archive.org

Gilchrist, Helen Ives. A Catalogue of the Collection of Arms & Armor Presented to the Cleveland Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs. John Long Severance; 1916-1923. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924. Mentioned: p. 233, J5 archive.org

Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. p. 53; cat. no. 73, p. 166

Louis, William Noel, and Daniel H. Weiss. The Book of Kings: Art, War and the Morgan Library's Medieval Picture Bible. Baltimore: Walters Art Museum, 2002. pp. 84, 188, cat. no. 31, fig. 1

Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. cat. no. 78, p. 186

Exhibition history

Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).

The Book of Kings: Art, War and the Morgan Library's Medieval Picture Bible. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD (organizer) (October 27-December 29, 2002).

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=Pricked Spur|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.1611|year=1200s|access-date=21 September 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.

You are here:

Images

Pricked Spur

Pricked Spur

Spain, 13th century

Location

Download and Share

Did you know?

Description

Contact us