Lot 29

BIEDERMEIER SHOOTING TARGET

The oldest shooting clubs in the Czech lands are documented as early as the 17th century, but they experienced their golden age from the late 18th century and especially throughout the 19th century. Around this time, there was a gradual shift from “shooting at a bird”—where shooters aimed at a bird figure—to shooting at painted targets. These were often created by renowned painters (E. G. Doerell, among others), so they frequently never even made it to the shooting range but were instead hung directly on the walls of shooting clubs as decorations, and shooters would then aim at a less expensive target. Interest in shooting competitions was enormous—the aristocracy, townspeople, women, and clergy all participated. The competition did not always have to be won by the most accurate shot; in some cases, the deepest shot prevailed. Similarly, the winning shot did not always have to be as close to the center as possible; the donor of the target could specify which part of the depiction was to be aimed at, and the target thus shifted in various directions. In the 19th century, shooting societies—uniformed and organized along military lines—were essentially the main driving force behind community life (they also organized balls, lectures, fireworks displays, etc.) in the ethnically German towns of the Czech borderlands. The set of three shooting targets from the early 19th century offered in this auction undoubtedly originates from there as well. In this case, the target measures 110 x 103 cm and is dated June 3, 1810, at the bottom—the date of the shooting competition. The donor’s name (Peschka) appears at the top. The drawn circles clearly indicate the task of hitting as close to the center of the target as possible. The circular scene inside the target depicts a bear being attacked by other animals—two dogs and two reptiles—with their actions commented on by a German inscription at the top of the circle: Sie wissen nicht, was sie thun (They do not know what they are doing), a clear reference to Christ’s last words (Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do). The bear’s appearance suggests that the artist did not see this animal very often. The mountainous landscape in the background may be imaginary, but it may also depict the border region of the Czech mountains (the Ore Mountains?) and thus situate the target in the place of its origin. Similar targets are today prized specimens in domestic museums and castles, and they rarely appear at auctions. Their value is manifold—in addition to their artistic and aesthetic value, they also hold great historical significance, as they are silent witnesses to the long-vanished social entertainment of the nobility from the century before last.