Badge with Hunting Horn

Art Historical Context

This delicate 15th-century badge crafted from tin-lead alloy, depicts a hunting horn—a symbol evoking the thrill of the medieval chase. Measuring just 1 1/8 x 1 11/16 inches, its petite scale suggests it was designed to be pinned to clothing or a hat, making it a portable emblem of status or allegiance. Produced in Britain during the late Middle Ages, such metalwork badges were cast using simple molds, allowing for mass production and widespread use among nobility, their retainers, and pilgrims. Hunting horns held cultural weight in medieval society, representing aristocratic pursuits like falconry and the hunt, reserved for the elite. These livery badges often signified loyalty to a specific lord or family, flourishing amid the factional strife of the Wars of the Roses (1455–1487). Though the maker remains unknown, the object's survival highlights the era's vibrant metalworking traditions, blending functionality with heraldic pride. Today, this piece graces the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Medieval Art collection, a generous 2002 gift from William and Toni Conte. It offers a tangible glimpse into everyday symbols of medieval identity and power.