Cleveland Museum of Art

Rowel Spur

Date

c. 1700

Medium

steel

Culture

Spain, early 18th Century

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Instead of a "prick" terminus at the neck, the rowel spur had a rotating wheel installed between two prongs. This type of spur gradually supplemented the prick spur as a safer and less severe alternative for the horse. Rowel spurs first appeared during the 1200s and were in general use by the 1300s. Spurs became more than an equestrian tool, but a piece of male jewelry that would be worn even not when riding.

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