Partisan Carried by the Bodyguard of Louis XIV (1638–1715, reigned from 1643)

Designer Jean Berain French

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 376

This partisan—a shafted weapon with a trident-like blade—was carried by Louis XIV's bodyguards, the Gardes de la Manche (Guards of the Sleeve), an elite unit whose name conveyed their close proximity to the monarch. The splendor of the tall weapons would have been apparent to onlookers even from afar. This example depicts the king as the god Mars driving a chariot over a lion and an eagle, signifying his triumph over England and Austria, respectively.

Partisan Carried by the Bodyguard of Louis XIV (1638–1715, reigned from 1643), Jean Berain (French, Saint-Mihiel 1640–1711 Paris), Steel, gold, wood, textile, French, Paris

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Partisan Carried by the Bodyguard of Louis XIV (1638–1715, reigned from 1643), Jean Berain (French, Saint-Mihiel 1640–1711 Paris), Steel, gold, wood, textile, French, Paris
Partisan Carried by the Bodyguard of Louis XIV (1638–1715, reigned from 1643), Jean Berain (French, Saint-Mihiel 1640–1711 Paris), Steel, gold, wood, textile, French, Paris

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