Shield (targone) for the Gioco del Ponte, in the colors of t - Lot 95

Lot n° 95
Go to lot
Estimation :
1500 - 2000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 3 956EUR
Shield (targone) for the Gioco del Ponte, in the colors of t - Lot 95
Shield (targone) for the Gioco del Ponte, in the colors of the Delfini and Sant'Antonio squads, Mezzogiorno area. Mezzogiorno sector. Pisa (Italy), late 18th century (prob. 1785), repainted in 1807 L. 100 cm - W. 22 cm Shield (targone) for the Gioco del Ponte, in the colors of the Delfini and Sant'Antonio squads, from the Mezzogiorno district Pisa (Italy), late 18th century (probably 1785), repainted in 1807 L. 39 3/8 in - l. 8 3/4 in 598 CH Provenance : - Karsten Klingbeil Collection (l.1925-2016), Kleinen Wannsee, Berlin (Germany) until 2011 - Bergé et Hermann Historica sale, Brussels, December 13, 2011, lot 82 Carved from poplar wood. Front face painted with a blue and white chevron pattern from one side to the other (colors of the Delfini area in the late 18th century). Has been repainted, probably for the 1807 edition, in the colors of the Sant'Antonio district (a boar running on a red background), but this layer is very patchy. Wooden handle nailed to the back (the second one is missing). Reverse slightly recessed for the passage of the arm, iron-marked with the initials AVC crowned, for Auditore (a kind of governor) Vicario Cercignani. A targone dated to the 1785 edition of the game, bearing the mark of the same auditore, is preserved in the Pisa City Museum. Collector's copper plate nailed to the handle, bearing the number 0259. Painting incomplete, one of the handles is missing. 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.
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue