The Rubens House > Collection > Virtual guided tour > First-floor rooms > Family room (17) > Chain from a marksmen’s guild
Chain from a marksmen’s guild
This chain is from a marksmen’s guild.
According to the inscription on the reverse of the shield, the chain was given to Rubens by Nicolaas Rockox in 1614. A year later, Rubens completed his monumental Descent from the Cross, which he had painted for the guild’s altar in the Cathedral. He was then made an honorary member of the guild; the chain may have been an additional reward for services rendered.
Starting in the Middle Ages, townsmen began organising themselves into archers’ guilds. They were responsible for defending the city. After 1500, with the advent of firearms, these evolved into marksmen’s guilds. The most important event of the year was the ‘parrot shoot’. The prize for the best shot was a silver parrot on a silver chain, which the winner (dubbed ‘the king of the guild’) was entitled to wear for the next year.
Chain from a marksmen’s guild
Valenciennes, 1614
gilded silver