Hunting Spear
- Culture
- possibly Italian
- Culture
- possibly French
- Date
- 1550–1600
- Material
- Steel, iron, and wood
- Classification
- Arms & armor, metalwork
- Collection
- Decorative Arts and Design
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 126
- Dimensions
- 88 1/4 x 7 1/4 x 4 in. (224.2 x 18.4 x 10.2 cm)
weight: 7 lb. (3.2 kg) - Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 42:1919
NOTES
Etched vines decorate the blade of this spear for hunting large game like boars or bears. The overlapping leaves carved on the shaft also made for a firmer grip. The crossbar mounted behind the blade prevented the spear from penetrating too deeply, which protected the hunter from a wounded boar’s slashing tusks. Hunting was a popular sport among European nobility. Such events were often spectacles of pageantry, in which weapons were ornamented like works of art.
Provenance
Chabrières-Arlès Collection, France
- 1919
Duveen Brothers, New York, NY, USA [1]
1919 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Duveen Brothers [2]
Notes:
[1] The Duveen Brothers invoice, dated March 21, 1919, states that 42:1919 was formerly in the Chabrières-Arlès Collection. This provenance is further supported by a page removed from a catalogue, which confirms 42:1919 as previously belonging to the Chabrières-Arlès Collection. It is not clear from which publication this single sheet has been removed; the only printed notation on the page reads "Héliog R. Varin." The object on the page is annotated in hand "213 M", "110 A", and "42:19" [SLAM document files].
[2] Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, April 18, 1919.
- 1919
Duveen Brothers, New York, NY, USA [1]
1919 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Duveen Brothers [2]
Notes:
[1] The Duveen Brothers invoice, dated March 21, 1919, states that 42:1919 was formerly in the Chabrières-Arlès Collection. This provenance is further supported by a page removed from a catalogue, which confirms 42:1919 as previously belonging to the Chabrières-Arlès Collection. It is not clear from which publication this single sheet has been removed; the only printed notation on the page reads "Héliog R. Varin." The object on the page is annotated in hand "213 M", "110 A", and "42:19" [SLAM document files].
[2] Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, April 18, 1919.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.