The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 27, 2023

Partisan

1729–32

Germany, 18th century

Steel, etched, haft broken

Support: Etched

Overall: 29.1 cm (11 7/16 in.)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William F. Wieman 1951.352

Location

210A Armor Court

Fun Fact

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.

Description

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.

Inscriptions

Inscription

Coat of arms and letters F.L.C.V.M. (Franz Ludwig Kurfurst von Mainz)

Inscription Translation

Franz Ludwig Elector of Mainz

Provenance
Franz Ludwig von Pfalz-Neuburg (1664-1732), Prince Elector and Archbishop of Mainz (1792-32)
-1951
Mr. and Mrs. William F. Weiman, Cleveland, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art
1951-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. pp. 130, 168; cat. no. 121
Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. cat. no. 121, p. 188
Exhibition history

Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1951.352