HANGED MAN SPOON – ALPINE BRONZE AMULET (GALGENMANN), 18TH CENTURY

This large figurative bronze spoon, measuring twenty-five centimeters in length, is a rare example of a Galgenmann, the figure of the hanged man as it appears in German-speaking Alpine traditions of the 18th century. Entirely sculpted from a single piece, it depicts a suspended man with his arms bound behind his back, an emblematic posture of hanged figures in rural Tyrol and the Alemannic regions of Switzerland. In the folklore of these areas, the Galgenmann was not merely a macabre image: it embodied a liminal presence, a being situated at the threshold of the visible world, to whom protective powers against misfortune, dark forces, and occult influences were attributed. Such figures were hung inside homes, near the hearth or in outbuildings, as Schutzamulette, protective amulets believed to ward off bad luck and to pacify the invisible tensions of a place.

The sculpture presents the hanged man in full accordance with the traditional codification of its time: the tilted head, open mouth, protruding tongue, and above all the arms drawn behind the back—an identifying detail of the Germanic iconography of the Gehängter, the executed man. His open tunic, rustic garments, and pointed shoes clearly refer to popular dress of the 18th century. The twisted transition beneath the legs leading down to the spoon bowl, massive and entirely modeled in bronze, demonstrates that the object was not conceived as a functional utensil but as a symbolic support. The pierced loop at the top of the handle unequivocally indicates that the piece was intended to be suspended, in keeping with its function as a domestic protective object.

The deep patina of the bronze, combining aged brown tones with discreet traces of verdigris, attests to an authentic age consistent with a production date between 1720 and 1780. Bronze Galgenmänner of this size are extremely rare: most objects of this type were made of wood, far more fragile, and have rarely survived. That this example is cast in solid bronze, complete, expressive, and of such fine proportions makes it an exceptional piece, difficult to encounter even on the specialized curiosities market.

Charged, intense, and deeply rooted in Alpine protective beliefs, this hanged-man spoon amulet represents an intact fragment of 18th-century folk magic. It constitutes an object of power, a witness to the boundary between superstition, protection, and domestic ritual, and a first-rate piece for any esoteric collection or cabinet of curiosities.

PERIOD : 18th century
DIMENSIONS : 24 cm
SIZE : 9.5"