The Field – August 2019

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TheswordwasmadebyParisiangold-

smith François-Désiré Froment-Meurice

(1802-55) and his collaborator, the

silversmith Jules Wièse (1818-90).

Froment-Meurice exhibited at the 1839

Paris exhibition,where he won a silver

medal, whichwas followed in 1844 by

gold. He became known as the lead-

inggoldsmithandjewellerinFranceand

wasdescribedbyVictor Hugo as “the new

BenvenutoCellini”.

Thegripisintheshapeofa poacher,

inlate-18th-centurycostume,hishands

claspinghisheadthrownbackinagony

withhisrightlegcaughtina man-trap.

InBritain,man-trapsbecamecommon

in the latter half of the 18th century

whencommonlandwasbeingenclosed

and newlandowners became increas-

ingly more concerned with protecting

game rather than people. To discour-

agepoachersandillegaltrespassthese

mechanical spring traps, some with

heavy toothed jaws, would be set to

ensnare theleg of theunwary victim.

Suchman-trapscouldmaimorkilland

would almost certainly affect the vic-

tim’sabilitytowork,if onlyintheshort

term.Theywerefinallyofficiallybanned

in Britain in1861, only some 10 years

afterthishangerwasmade.

Perhaps surprisingly, the obvious

sculptural form of the poacher-shaped

grip belies howwellit actuallyfits the

hand when held; a testament to the

superbdesignaestheticsand crafting that

wentintoitscreation.

TheWièsehangeris amongthe 630

itemsondisplayintheHuntingGallery

attheRoyalArmouriesMuseum,Leeds,

thenationalmuseumofarmsand

armour.Themuseumis opendaily,

from10amto5pm.Entryis free.For

details, go to: http://www.royalarmouries.org

THEterm‘hanger’wasusedfromearlyin

the14thcenturyandcametobeapplied

toallshortswordsthatcouldbeworn

comfortablyforhuntingortravelling.By

thecloseofthe17thcentury,inEurope,

firearmshadsupplantedthecrossbow,

spearand sword as themainweapon

of choiceforthehuntand thehanger

hadbecomea meresidearm.However,

hangerscontinuedtoremaina popular

hunting accoutrement throughout the

19thcenturyandwereusedinhunting

ceremoniesaswell as for the despatch-

ingofquarry.

Forcenturiesa majorpartoftheritual

ofthehunthasbeenaboutextravagant

displayandwithits silverhiltthis type

ofhangerwasmadeasa pieceofluxury

costume-wear forthewealthiestof cli-

ents;a showofconspicuousconsumption

probablyonlyworninthefieldfor a ‘festi-

val’huntorjustfordisplay.

Asinthecaseoftheluxuriouslydec-

orated pistol featured in last month’s

article,thishangerwasalsoexhibitedat

theGreatExhibitionof 1851 inHydePark,

wheretheexhibitionjuryawardedit their

highestaccolade:therareCouncilMedal,

ofwhichonly 170 wereawardedbythe

Commissioners. Fewweapons,firearms

orbladesreceivedthisaccolade.

It is a veryfineandrareFrenchhunt-

ing hanger and scabbard dating from

about 1850. The finely chiselled silver

hiltiscastentirely inonepieceandis

decorated with a dead gamebird, ivy

tendrilsandflowersoverfinelypierced

scroll-work. Theshort bladebears,for

mostofitslength,a panelofetchedoak

leavesandacorns,symbolsofthechase.

Thesamemotifsarealsotobefoundon

thelocketandchapeoftheblackleather

scabbard,whileitssuspension stud is in

the form of a wolf’s head.

WIÈSE SILVER HUNTING HANGER

AND SCABBARD

BY ROBERT WOOSNAM-SAVAGE FSA

Notsomethingtoloseinthemud;this 1960

LamborghiniCingolato 3402 CTL– oneofjust 73

built – sold for £24,000 at Bonhams in April

COUNTRYESTATE

UNDER THE HAMMER

beselling.Estimatedata £1,000to£1,500,I

rathersupposedthatsomeonebuyingthem

withinestimatecouldatleastgazeatthem

anddreamofthemoors,evenif theycould

notaffordtoshootonthem.Fatchance.Per-

hapsI encourageda rushofreaderstogo

andtrytheirluckor,maybe,it wasalways

a ‘comehither’price.Cometheday,some-

onehadtobid£6,200topopthemintheir

bootandtakethem home. Beforeleaving

‘art’,Swordersalsosolda ‘Snaffles’(Charles

Johnson Payne, 1884-1967) of The finest

view in Europe – a coloured lithograph,

withsomehandpainting, signedin pencil

• for£580;hardlyexpensivefora desirable
  exampleofthisever-popularprint.
  Say “Lamborghini,” and one usually
  thinks‘Lambo!’:fast,furious,noisy,garishly
  colouredanda lotoffuntodrive.It doesnot


• atleastminedoesnot– leaptothe 1960
  ‘LamborghiniCingolato 3402 CTL’tracked
  tractorthatBonhamssoldon7 April,evenif
  it tooisnoisy,garishlycoloured(aclashing
  melangeofblueandorange–theGulfOil
  racingcolours)and,foravidtractordrivers,
  funtodrive.Oneofonly 73 built,it hasan
  air-cooled,three-cylinderdieselengineand
  wasfullyrestored, usingoriginal parts,in
  2015.Evenbetterthecataloguesaysit works
  wellandstartsfirsttime.What’snottolike?
  Well,thepriceforstarters.Ittrundledand
  rumbledoverits top £18,000 estimate to sell
  for £24,000.

FORTHCOMINGSALES

14 AUGUSTLYON& TURNBULL

Edinburgh Whisky and spirits

Ð

26 AUGUSTGAVINGARDINER

GleneaglesHotel,Auchterarder,

Perthshire Finemodernand vintage

sporting guns

ROYAL ARMOURIES