The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 23, 2024

Parade Halberd (from the bodyguard of Ludwig Rudolf, Duke of Brunswick- Wolfenbüttel [1671-1735])

1717

Germany, 18th century

blued, etched and gilded steel, wooden haft with orginal steel base spike, silk tassel with alternating blue and gold bands

Overall: 276.9 cm (109 in.)

Alma Kroeger Fund 2007.164

Location: 210A Armor Court

Did You Know?

A halberd is a mix between a battle ax and a spear.

Description

The halberd and partisan are hafted weapons highly favored by European infantries of the 1500s and 1600s for their great versatility and deadly effect. From about 1550 on, these weapons underwent significant changes as they gradually became more ornamental. The large flat surfaces of the blades lent themselves to engraving, etching, gilding, and other forms of decoration. They also provided the perfect location for the coats of arms of princely or noble families. For this reason, hafted weapons became the favored parade weapons of palace guards and splendidly outfitted special regiments of princely bodyguards. These examples, made for the German dukes of Brunswick at Schloss Blankenburg, still have their silk tassels in their original colors of blue and yellow.

Historic Collections of the Dukes of Brunswick successively at Schloss Blankenburg and Schloss Marienburg
-2007
(Peter Finer, London, England, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
2007-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. pp. 150, 188, no. 106
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Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2007.164