Parade Halberd (from the bodyguard of Ludwig Rudolf, Duke of Brunswick- Wolfenbüttel [1671-1735]) (1717): Art, History and Details

Parade Halberd (from the bodyguard of Ludwig Rudolf, Duke of Brunswick- Wolfenbüttel [1671-1735]) (1717) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The halberd and partisan are hafted weapons highly favored by European infantries of the 1500s and 1600s for their great versatility and deadly effect. From about 1550 on, these weapons underwent significant changes as they gradually became more ornamental. The large flat surfaces of the blades lent themselves to engraving, etching, gilding, and other forms of decoration. They also provided the perfect location for the coats of arms of princely or noble families. For this reason, hafted weapons became the favored parade weapons of palace guards and splendidly outfitted special regiments of princely bodyguards. These examples, made for the German dukes of Brunswick at Schloss Blankenburg, still have their silk tassels in their original colors of blue and yellow.

Object facts

• Title: Parade Halberd (from the bodyguard of Ludwig Rudolf, Duke of Brunswick- Wolfenbüttel [1671-1735])
• Date: 1717
• Culture: Germany, 18th century
• Type: Arms and Armor
• Technique: blued, etched and gilded steel, wooden haft with orginal steel base spike, silk tassel with alternating blue and gold bands
• Dimensions: Overall: 276.9 cm (109 in.)
• Collection: MED - Arms & Armor
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 2007.164

A detail from the museum

A halberd is a mix between a battle ax and a spear.

Collection credit

Alma Kroeger Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.