The International Fine Art & Antiques Show, founded in 1989, was New York’s first vetted fair and remains one of the world’s most prestigious art and antique fairs.  The glamorous, world-class showcase consistently attracts leading international dealers with an outstanding selection of superb works of art, featuring everything from antiquities to contemporary art.  Among some of the highlights at this year’s fair is a Sporting Crossbow made for a member of the Hapsburg Bohemian nobility and a carved giltwood console table commissioned by Sir Lawrence Dundas.

 

A German Sporting Crossbow (Halbe Rustung) Veneered in Engraved Staghorn, circa 1590-1600

Made for a member of the Hapsburg Bohemian nobility, whose arms and crest are engraved on the horn plaque capping the base of the tiller.

A small number of surviving German crossbows dating from the late 16th /early 17th century are similarly decorated with the Hapsburg double-eagle, or the eagle of The Holy Roman Empire, very prominently over the sides. In some cases the eagles’ heads are crowned, in others set within halos, such as in the present instance. Both versions are used in heraldry associated with the Imperial House of Hapsburg during the 16th and 17th centuries.

A similar example was included in the renowned collection of Rutherfurd Stuyvesant, New York (cat.no. 146), and another, in the collection of D. José Estruch y Cumella, Barcelona (cat. no. 814). A further example was exhibited in the Musée Rath, Geneva, May-August 1972.

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