Cleveland Museum of Art

Partisan

Date

1729–32

Medium

steel, etched, haft broken

Culture

Germany, 18th century

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The partisan, a staff weapon with a symmetrical head, was carried by infantry officers and members of princely bodyguards during the 1600s and 1700s. This one is inscribed with the coat of arms and letters F.L.C.V.M for Franz Ludwig Kurfurst von Mainz. Franz Ludwig (1664-1732) held the office from 1729-32. Partisans were a favored weapon of palace guards and princely bodyguards; the large flat surface of the head lends itself perfectly for decorative coats of arms.

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