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State Halberd

A work made of steel, iron, wood, velvet, and attached tassel.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of steel, iron, wood, velvet, and attached tassel.

Date:

1600/10

Artist:

German, Saxony
Of the Guard of John George, Duke of Saxony (reigned as Elector 1611-56)

About this artwork

Pole arms (staff weapons) were used not only in warfare and hunting, but also in sporting combat and ceremonies. The term refers to a family of edged weapons attached to wooden staffs. With the exception of the lance, which remained the weapon of the mounted knight, all other staff weapons were wielded by men on foot by 1600. With the development of firearms and their introduction as infantry weapons, pole arms lost their importance on the field, and from the mid-16th century, they were reserved for use in sporting contests and by princely bodyguards for ceremony and parade. The blades lent themselves to embellishment—engraving, etching, or other forms of decoration—and provided a perfect surface for the coats of arms of noble or princely families. The ceremonial use of staff weapons continues to this day with the Swiss Guards at the Vatican and Britain’s Yeomen of the Royal Guard.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Title

State Halberd

Place

Saxony (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1600–1610

Medium

Steel, iron, wood, velvet, and attached tassel

Dimensions

Blade L. 55.9 cm (22 in.) Wt. 5 lb. 5 oz.

Credit Line

George F. Harding Collection

Reference Number

1982.2354

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/106508/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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