This pair of rowel spurs, gilded overall, is richly adorned with an etched and enameled decoration, featuring flowers, leaves, and trophies of arms. Even the inside of the branches is etched with vegetal scrolls and a grotesque mask on the heel. This type of decoration matches some armors made in France in the early 17th century.
In the first half of the 17th century, the fashion trend for gentlemen was to wear boots and spurs even in non-riding circumstances, including for dancing or walking around at court. Spurs became then more than equestrian tools, but pieces of male jewelry often enriched by the same goldsmiths also working on armor and weapons. Their decoration was sometimes intended to match the sword hilt and the general outfit and horse tack of their owner. These trendy accessories were also a significant mark of status for gentlemen, sometimes nonetheless copied by the bourgeoisie. This fashion progressively disappeared after the mid 17th century.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Pair of Rowel Spurs
Date:early 17th century
Culture:French
Medium:Iron alloy, gold, enamel
Dimensions:04.3.170: L. 5 1/4 in. (13.3 cm); W. 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm); Diam. of rowel 2 in. (5.1 cm); Wt. 3.2 oz. (90.7 g); 04.3.171: L. 5 1/4 in. (13.3 cm); W. 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm); Diam. of rowel 2 1/16 in. (5.2 cm); Wt. 3.2 oz. (90.7 g)
Classification:Equestrian Equipment-Spurs
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1904
Object Number:04.3.170–.171
Charles Maurice Camille de Talleyrand-Périgord, Duc de Dino, Paris (until 1904; sold to MMA).
Los Angeles. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "Loan Exhibition of Mediaeval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," January 15–March 18, 1953, no. 40.
San Francisco. California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "Loan Exhibition of Mediaeval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 18–June 7, 1953, no. 40.
Pittsburgh. Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute. "Loan Exhibition of Mediaeval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," October 1953–April 1954, no. 40.
Louisville, Ky. Speed Art Museum. "A Loan Exhibition of Equestrian Equipment from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 4–July 3, 1955, no. 97.
Seattle, Wash. Seattle Art Museum. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," March 11, 1982–June 6, 1982, no. 39 (04.3.171).
Denver, Colo. Denver Art Museum. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," July 18–October 10, 1982, no. 39 (04.3.171).
San Antonio, Tex. Witte Museum of the San Antonio Museum Association. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," November 13, 1982–February 5, 1983, no. 39 (04.3.171).
Minneapolis, Minn. Minneapolis Institute of Arts. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 24–July 31, 1983, no. 39 (04.3.171).
San Francisco. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," November 5, 1983–January 28, 1984, no. 39 (04.3.171).
Detroit, Mich. Detroit Institute of Arts. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 4–June 17, 1984, no. 39 (04.3.171).
Cosson, Charles Alexander. Le Cabinet d'Armes de Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Duc de Dino. Paris: E. Rouveyre, 1901. p.51, E.13.
Grancsay, Stephen V. Loan Exhibition of Mediaeval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1953. p. 17, no. 40.
Grancsay, Stephen V. A Loan Exhibition of Equestrian Equipment from the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Catalogue. Louisville, Ky.: Speed Art Museum, 1955. no. 97, ill. (04.3.170).
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Helmut Nickel, Stuart W. Pyhrr, Leonid Tarassuk, and American Federation of Arts. The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art: An Exhibition. New York: The Federation, 1982. pp. 80–81, no. 39, ill.
Château de Versailles. Cheval En Majesté: Au Cœur d’Une Civilisation, edited by Hélène Delalex. Paris: LienArt, 2024. pp. 408–9, no. 155, ill.
Hilt by Israel Schuech (German, Dresden, active ca. 1590–1610)
dated 1606
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