Lot 3665
An etched halberd for the trabant guard of Emperor Maximilian II, Augsburg, dated 1571
Antique Arms and Armour from all over the world | A80aw | Live auction | 590 Lots
Description
Broad, double-edged thrusting blade with a pronounced medial rib. The jagged blade with a concave cutting edge, the opposite side with a robust fluke. Angular socket with four long side straps and a reinforcement ring. Fine ornate etching on both sides with decorative tendrils on a stippled, blackened ground. The crowned cipher "MM" at the base of the thrusting blade on both sides. The head bearing the motto "Dom(inu)s providebit" above the imperial double-headed eagle with an escutcheon and collar. The fluke dated "1571". The symbol of the Augsburg etch painter, Hans Stromair (cross and two rings) on the socket. The original quadrangular, wooden shaft made of ash. Length 236 cm.
According to the latest research, the halberds for the palace guard of Emperor Maximilian II were made by the armourer, Oswald Salzhuber of Augsburg, and etched by Hans Stromair. Identical halberds have been preserved in the collections in Vienna and Paris, while a third forms part of the Kretschmer von Kienbusch collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Condition: II
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