Miner's pickaxe

Miner’s pickaxes (Häckel) are ornamental staffs or symbols of status used like a walking stick by mining officers when going out. Around 1.20 m high and as thick as a broomstick, this wooden staff is elaborately decorated with inlaid bone work. The reddish-brown wood of the staff allows the light-coloured decorations to stand out. The motifs show Jesus nailed to the cross, with the typical inscription ‘INRI’ in capital letters above it. The wood and inlays have been sanded so well that the stick is pleasantly smooth. A silver-coloured iron blade is attached to the top of the wooden staff, which looks like a flat axe head with a horn sticking upwards. The iron blade bears an engraving that resembles a coat of arms. A brass-coloured acorn is enthroned on the horn which looks as if it has been impaled with the little hat. The honorary pickaxe for Count Anton Günther II of Schwarzburg-Arnstadt and Hohnstein (1653-1716) was modelled on the mountain and parade ceremonial pickaxe of Saxony.