Pair of Rowel Spurs

These superb spurs are intricately chiseled with minute figures of warriors on horseback interspersed with grotesque masks and floral patterns. The workmanship relates closely to that of a small group of chiseled iron sword hilts that were made in either France or Holland in the mid-seventeenth century.

In the first half of the 17th century, the fashion trend for gentlemen was to wear boots and spurs even non-riding circumstances, including for dancing or walking around at court. Spurs became then more than equestrian tools, but pieces of male jewelry often enriched by the same goldsmiths and craftsmen also working on armor and weapons. Their decoration was sometimes intended to match the sword hilt and the general outfit and horse tack of their owner. These trendy accessories were also a significant mark of status for gentlemen, sometimes nonetheless copied by the bourgeoisie. This fashion progressively disappeared after the mid 17th century.