Pair of Rowel Spurs

The bodies and necks of these spurs feature rich decoration of putti’s heads, fruits and foliage inlaid with silver, on a background that originally was blackened. If this type of decoration was very popular in Germany in the first half of the 17th century, the shape of this spur is typical of examples made in the second half. This spur is therefore a rare late manifestation of this style.

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 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.