Trophy of arms

Engraving of "A Trophy of Arms with History and Victory seated at lower left and right", by Daniel Hopfer (c.1470-1536). Victory extends her hand toward the god Jupiter in form of an eagle

Antique trophy of arms, with Scottish bagpipes, engraving circa 1750 by William Hogarth (1697-1764)

Roman Denarius circa 46-45 BC, depicting a trophy of arms tropaion from the Gallic Wars of Julius Caesar showing a captured Gaul on one side and a mourning female symbolizing Gallia, defeated, on the other

An antique trophy of arms is an artistically assembled display of weaponry, often captured from a defeated enemy, designed for the purpose of triumphalist display by a victor or as a show of military prowess by a monarch.

Origins

The practice was used in the classical age by the Greeks and Romans. Homer's Iliad relates the practice of warriors in the Trojan War removing the armour and weapons of a killed opponent in order to make an offering to the gods. This was contrasted to mere booty. Trophies of arms were commonly depicted on Greek and Roman coins. In England a tradition of making trophies of arms and armour, designed to display British military prowess, was established in the armoury of the Tower of London from the late 17th century. In about 1700 John Harris created an impressive display in the Grand Storehouse which included a serpent and a seven-headed Hydra, together with a variety of weapons including muskets, pistols and swords. The antiquarian William Maitland described it as a sight "no one ever beheld without astonishment...not to be matched perhaps in the world".

Constituent elements

Elements commonly depicted within antique trophies of arms include:

• breastplates
• spears
• halberds
• bows
• arrows
• quivers
• lit torches
• swords
• cannon and balls
• captured military standards
• clubs

See also

• War trophy