Seven hunting horns in three groupings
Wenceslaus Hollar Bohemian
Not on view
This small etching is part of a series that shows typical seventeenth-century hunting paraphernalia. In one, traditional ox horns and coiled trumpets are both represented in pairs. Horns were used to send messages across vast hunting grounds when large parties of courtiers and their dogs became separated. Different melodies signaled the beginning and end of each stage of the hunt. By the eighteenth century, new horns with larger harmonic ranges were developed. However, ox horns were still used, as they had become synonymous with the pastime.
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