The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 23, 2024

Rowel Spur

Rowel Spur

c. 1700
steel
Diameter: 7.2 cm (2 13/16 in.); Overall: 9.5 cm (3 3/4 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1568
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Spurs became more than an equestrian tool, but a piece of male jewelry that would be worn even not when riding.

Description

Instead of a "prick" terminus at the neck, the rowel spur had a rotating wheel installed between two prongs. This type of spur gradually supplemented the prick spur as a safer and less severe alternative for the horse. Rowel spurs first appeared during the 1200s and were in general use by the 1300s.
  • Thill
    ?-1916
    Frank Gair Macomber; Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1916-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Catalogue of Arms and Armour. [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], 1900. no. 524 archive.org
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. cat. no. 80, p. 186
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. p. 55, 165, cat. no. 70
  • Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).
    European Arms and Armor from the Cleveland Museum of Art (Long-term Loan). Birmingham Museum of Art (organizer) (July 1, 1993-July 1, 1995).
  • {{cite web|title=Rowel Spur|url=false|author=|year=c. 1700|access-date=23 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.1568