Partisan
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
The wide, double-edged blade of flattened diamond section is flanked at its base by two cusped lugs with up-turned points. Turned moldings join the head to the socket, the latter with three ring moldings and side straps. The lower half of the blade and the socket are gilt, the blade etched with the following motifs: on one side is a double-headed eagle under an imperial crown, and on its breast an oval medallion bearing the monogram C VI (Carolus VI); on the other side are trophies of arms and two bound captives. The original shaft of wood is inlaid near the top with two brass letters on either side of the straps: Ö and Ẏ. Throughout the eighteenth century, the spontoon was carried by military officers as a symbol of rank rather than as a weapon. Its form derives from the partisan, a weapon of similar shape but of larger proportions, that was commonly borne by household bodyguards (the "partisans") in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This particular spontoon bears the monogram of Emperor Charles VI of Austria (reigned 1711–40), and similar examples, but with etching of much finer quality, are in the Vienna Waffensammlung and in the Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien. The somewhat crude and naive rendering of the decoration on this example suggest that it probably served a lower ranking officer and may have been made in a provincial center, copied after finer examples of Viennese make. The inlaid letters on the shaft may refer to the spontoon's owner, or to his regiment.
Arms and Armor
An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art
The principal goals of the Arms and Armor Department are to collect, preserve, research, publish, and exhibit distinguished examples representing the art of the armorer, swordsmith, and gunmaker. Arms and armor have been a vital part of virtually all cultures for thousands of years, pivotal not only in conquest and defense, but also in court pageantry and ceremonial events. Throughout time the best armor and weapons have represented the highest artistic and technical capabilities of the society and period in which they were made, forming a unique aspect of both art history and material culture.