ANONIEM / ANONYME 1/2 XVII Antwerpen/ Anvers/ Antwerp

The parrot shooting of the Saint-Sebastian guild during the fair of Saint-Joris. Panel. Second quarter 17th century. For the annual grand title shooting, during which the king of the guild was designated, the guild members shot 'uppaerdt', at a wooden or leather parrot, which was set on top an upright mole end. The winner of the tournament became king for one year and was allowed to wear the guild chain, which can be seen around the pole of the mill. A man on the left side among the spectators points to the banner of the St. Sebastian guild. There were several guilds of Saint Sebastian in the neighborhood of Antwerp, therefor it is not sure which one of them is portrayed. The landscape in this scene is inspired by the 16th-century renderings of the St. George's Fair by Pieter Bruegel I (c. 1525-1569) and his followers. The inn 'de swaen' is frequently depicted here. This inn is mentioned in the 8-page text from 1581 'The Mandement of Bacchus' in which Bacchus, in a moralizing monologue, mentions 32 varieties of wine, 30 varieties of beer, and over 90 Antwerp inns.¹ 1. Verhuyck P. and Kisling C., The Mandement of Bacchus, Antwerp Pub Crawl in 1580, Amsterdam, 1987. 85 x 111 cm (116 x 142 cm) Lit.: C. Devyt, 'Het schieten van de papegaai op de Brugse standmolens', Biekorf, jaargang 57, 1956, p. 161 (online beschikbaar https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/_bie001195601_01/_bie001195601_01_0055.php).