Trophy of arms

[1] Similar decorative vertical arrangements of hunting accessories, musical instruments or other objects are also commonly referred to as trophies.

The term comes from the ancient Greek tropaion and Roman equivalent tropaeum, military victories which were commemorated with a display of actual captured arms, armour and standards.

The use of trophies as an ornament in decoration became popular in the Italian Renaissance, and as an architectural element in relief or free-standing sculpture during the Baroque era, where they are often used as a kind of finial to decorate rooflines, gate columns and other elements of buildings with military associations, which included most royal palaces.

Homer's Iliad relates the practice of warriors in the Trojan War removing the armour and weapons of a killed opponent in order to make an offering to the gods.

In England a tradition of making trophies of arms and armour, designed to display British military prowess, was established in the armoury of the Tower of London from the late 17th century.