.jpg?w=1)
A COLLECTION OF IMPERIAL & ROYAL HUNTING TROPHIES
Eckartsau, Solitude, Favorite, Schönbuch...
These names conjure some of the mystery and romance of Mitteleuropa from the far western state of Württemberg to the Austrian alps. From the late Renaissance until the land reforms of the twentieth century, the great estates of Central Europe, with their vast forests and parkland, provided some of the best hunting in Europe. Taking their cue from the customs of the Imperial court -- the landed elite made hunting a central pursuit. Not that this was an idle passion; hunting was often the best way a young prince or nobleman could gain the kind of training he needed for warfare. The chase was a privilege of those who not only owned large amounts of land but who could also afford to dedicate them to sport. The additional expense of employing gamekeepers and foresters, as well as maintaining stables, kennels and gun rooms only added to the exclusivity of hunting -- and its allure.
During the more leisure-oriented period of the 19th century, hunting, at times crept into the realm of the theatrical, displaying an almost obsessive fascination with the bagging of animals. Konopiste, Archduke Franz Ferdinand d'Este's hunting castle in Central Bohemia, was perhaps the most exaggerated result of this, with room after room of pheasant tails hung as densely as wallpaper and antlers mounted by the thousand bristling along the corridors. It was at another of Franz Ferdinand's castles, Eckartsau, where many of the finest antlers of the present group originate.
These trophies, with their detailed inscriptions, bear witness to these hunting parties and their participants. Not only is the huntmaster, but also the rifleman inscribed, along with the exact date and castle where the hunt took place. Hung prominently in hallway entrances, they not only remind visitors of the host's own prowess with a rifle but also serve as a precise record of where the hunt had taken place and who had attended.
Schloss Eckartsau, although owned by Franz Josef I, Emperor of Austria-Hungary (1830-1916), was renovated in 1896 by the heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1863-1914), and used until his death. It was his assasination in Sarejevo, of course, that ignited the First World War and ended forever, the hunts at Eckartsau, not to mention the Austro-Hungarian empire. The staggering size and beauty of the present group are clear indications they are from the Imperial forests, forbidden to anyone hunting without the Emperor or Archduke's permission or presence. The dates of these antlers, all from 1896, show they were taken by guests in that first marvelous year of hunts and house parties.
THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTOR
AN IMPERIAL AND ROYAL STAG TROPHY
AUSTRIAN, 1896
Details
AN IMPERIAL AND ROYAL STAG TROPHY
AUSTRIAN, 1896
On a backing carved with a scrolled crest and sides and clustered oak leaves, inscribed hofjagden Eckartsau XII 1896 In Hoc Signo Vinces (with a red cross the lower half filled with black) Hofjägermeister Frhr. von Gaisperg und Schockingen Frhr. Corresani von Lanzenfeld und Campanero 173 m., the backing later
50 in. (127 cm.) high, including backing, and 35 in. (89 cm.) wide
AUSTRIAN, 1896
On a backing carved with a scrolled crest and sides and clustered oak leaves, inscribed hofjagden Eckartsau XII 1896 In Hoc Signo Vinces (with a red cross the lower half filled with black) Hofjägermeister Frhr. von Gaisperg und Schockingen Frhr. Corresani von Lanzenfeld und Campanero 173 m., the backing later
50 in. (127 cm.) high, including backing, and 35 in. (89 cm.) wide
Provenance
Schloss Eckartsau, Lower Austria, owned by Franz Josef I, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary (1830-1916) but at the time inhabited by Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand d'Este (1863-1914).