Highlights
Drunkard´s cloak, also known as ‘Spanish Coat’
- Artist
- –
- Locality
- Wertingen
- Date
- 1775
- Material
- Oak, polychromed
- Dimensions
- H. 107 cm
- Location
- Currently not on display
- Inventory Number
- StR 122
- Acquisition
- Assigned from the district administration of Wertingen in 1862
- Epoch
- Baroque and Rococo
- Categories
- Crime and Punishment
Description
As late as the 18th century, courts of justice would impose public shaming as punishment for minor offenses. The aim was to deter others by publicly disgrace the condemned. One device of punishment was the barrel of shame, also known as the Spanish coat. This barrel had to be worn along a fixed route and under guard through town. The Spanish coat at the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum illustrates all the offenses for which the barrel of shame was worn. So far, only two other painted examples are known to exist, which are also from the 18th century.
You can also find this object in the online collection
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