Shield (targone) for the Gioco del Ponte in the colors of th - Lot 93

Lot n° 93
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Estimation :
1200 - 2000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 3 297EUR
Shield (targone) for the Gioco del Ponte in the colors of th - Lot 93
Shield (targone) for the Gioco del Ponte in the colors of the San Michele squad, Tramontana sector. Pisa (Italy), dated 1807 L. 98 cm - W. 21 cm Shield (targone) for the Gioco del Ponte in the colors of the San Michele squad, from the Tramontana district. Pisa (Italy), dated 1807. L. 38 1/2 in - l. 8 1/4 in 599 CH Provenance : - Karsten Klingbeil Collection (l.1925-2016), Kleinen Wannsee, Berlin (Germany) until 2011 - Bergé et Hermann Historica sale, Brussels, December 13, 2011, lot 81 Carved from poplar wood. Front face painted with a red and white chevron pattern from one side to the other. Two strong wooden handles nailed to the back. Reverse side slightly recessed for the passage of the arm, iron-marked with the initials V M N and the date 1807 crowned, for Viviani Marchese Nicolò, civil and military governor of Pisa. Several targoni made for the 1807 game bear the same mark on the back, for example in the Pisa City Museum and in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (14.25.770). Good condition, a few accidents, slightly worm-eaten parts on the back. The Gioco del Ponte (Bridge Game) was a civil sports competition traditionally held on the last Saturday in June on the Ponte di Mezzo in Pisa. It saw representatives of the two main areas on either side of the Arno, the Mezzogiorno to the south and the Tramontana to the north, divided into quarters or magistracies, each with their own colors and emblems. Teams of fighters competed for control of the bridge, equipped with helmets and breastplates, as well as their targoni, which served as both shield and weapon. The first edition of the modern version of the game took place in 1568, and ran, with occasional interruptions, until 1785. An attempt was made to revive the game in 1807, but the fall of the short-lived Kingdom of Etruria in December of that year, annexed by Napoleon's empire, put a definitive end to it. Since 1935, a modernized version of the gioco del ponte has been held regularly in Pisa, albeit with slightly different rules and regulations. Bibliography: - Walter Karchesky Jr and Donald LaRocca, A Rare Armor for the Gioco del Ponte, Metropolitan museum Journal, v.42, 2007, p.107-119.
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