arms and armour from the court of the electors of saxony 1580

27 Pages·2016·3.48 MB·English

ARMS AND ARMOUR FROM

THE COURT OF THE ELECTORS OF SAXONY

1580 ~1625
Peter Finer are pleased to offer for sale a group of arms and armour, now on exhibition in the shop at 38/39
Duke Street, St James’s, which originates from the armouries of the Electors of Saxony, who ruled significant lands in
present-day Germany for over nine-hundred and fifty years and whose power was second only to the Holy Roman
Emperor’s.
The Prince Electors of Saxony, of the Ducal House of Wettin, assembled one of the finest historical collections
of arms and armour between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries and a portion of that arsenal today forms the core
of the Rüstkammer (Armoury) of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen (State Art Collections), Dresden. The royal arsenal
contained both personal weapons of the Electors and the equipment for their guard; the Electors in the sixteenth
century took exceptional pride in the turnout of their bodyguard and their armament must have been extraordinary,
even in an era when displays of military splendor were, along with the chase, one of the main diversions of Princes.
Four dispersals of arms and armour from the Historisches Museum in Dresden, born of the Saxon Electorate
armouries and today the Rüstkammer, took place between 1832 and 1927; it was in these scatterings that most of the
objects in this catalogue left the collection. The arms and armour preserved in the Historisches Museum, including the
pieces here, is astonishing amongst that in the hereditary armouries of Europe for its luxury, but foremost for its
remarkable state of conservation. While many of the royal armouries were allowed to rust away in the last few
centuries, the assemblage in Dresden was always carefully looked after - the arms and armour there, if scarred by their
working-life, not by time.
1586 – 1591
Christian I, Elector of Saxony
~
1591 – 1601
Friedrich Wilhelm I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar and Co-regent of
the Electorate of Saxony

1591 – 1611
Christian II, Elector of Saxony
~
1611 – 1656
Johann Georg I, Elector of Saxony
Table of Content

1. Morion for the Guard of the Prince Elector of Saxony, c. 1580
2. Silver-Mounted Estoc, c. 1580-90
3. Left-hand Dagger, c. 1590
4. Large Wheel-lock 'Puffer' Pistol, c. 1585
5. Buffe made for Elector Christian I by Anton Peffenhauser, c. 1586
6. Wheel-lock Gun for the Guard of Christian I, dated 1589
7. A Bandolier for a Musketeer of the Guard of the Prince Elector of Saxony, c. 1590
8. A Powder-flask for a Musketeer of the Guard of Elector Christian I, and Friedrich Wilhelm I, c. 1590
9. Pair of Wheel-lock Pistols bearing the Arms of Friedrich Wilhelm I, stamped with the maker’s mark of
Christoph Dressler, and dated 1596
10. Wheel-lock Pistol made for a Young Noble of the Saxon Court, c. 1600
11. Pair of Wheel-lock Pistols made for the Guard of Christian II, by Hans Stockmann, c. 1610
12. Powder-flask and Bullet-pouch for a Musketeer of the Guard of Christian II and Johann Georg I,
Electors of Saxony, c. 1600-1625
1. A Morion for the Guard of the

Prince Elector of Saxony, c. 1580

Nuremberg. Steel, brass, gold and leather.
38 cm x 24.5 cm

Provenance:

The armouries of the Prince Electors of
Saxony, Dresden.

Removed from the armouries either
following the First World War, or during
the period of dispersals to the Dresden
Opera.

2. A Silver-Mounted Estoc, c. 1580-90

Dresden. Steel, silver and wood.

114 cm

Provenance:

The armouries of the Prince Electors of
Saxony, Dresden.

The Historisches Museum, Dresden

American Art Association, New York, 24
November 1928, lot 278.

Stephen V. Grancsay, New York.

Private collection, USA.

The private collection of the former
chairman of The Royal Armouries.
Exhibited:

Loan Exhibition of Arms and Armor, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1931, cat.
no. 172.

Arms and Armor, The Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, PA, 1964, cat. no. 107.

Exhibition of Arms & Armour and Associated Works of Art, Howard Ricketts Ltd, London,
1973, cat. no. 10.
3. A Dagger for the Left Hand, c. 1590

Dresden. Steel, silver and wood.

42 cm

Provenance:


The Saxon Electoral armouries,
Dresden. Probably one of the
daggers of this type included in the

dispersal sale from the former

electoral armouries, held by
Rudolph Lepke of Berlin, 8 October

1919.


The private collection of the former
chairman of The Royal Armouries.
4. A Large Wheel-lock 'Puffer' Pistol,
c. 1585
Dresden. Wood, staghorn, steel, brass and gold.
62 cm.

Provenance:

The armouries of the Prince Electors of Saxony,
Dresden.
 The private collection of the former chairman of
The Royal Armouries.