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 fa...