Bow And Arrow Collection (#36)

Blackfoot Native American tepee lining, showing a buffalo hunt

Inuit hunting scene
Western Inuit hunting scene engraved on a walrus tusk, from the British Museums collection

Detail of an Etruscan bronze of an Amazon archer, 6th century BC
Detail of an Etruscan bronze of an Amazon archer on horseback, showing the Parthian shot. From Capua, 6th century BC

Venus and Cupid, 1600. Artist: Aegidius Sadeler II
Venus and Cupid, 1600. According to Roman Mythology, Cupid was the son of Venus, the goddess of love, and Mars, the god of war

Venus and Cupid, 1509. Cranach, Lucas, the Elder (1472-1553). Found in the collection of the State Hermitage, St. Petersburg

Sassanian dish showing King Ardashir III hunting
Sassanian silver-gilt dish showing King Ardashir III (c. 621?27 April 630) hunting moufflon, from the Hermitage Museums collection in St Petersburg

Bronze medallion of Apollo and the serpent Python, 16th century
Bronze medallion of Apollo and the serpent Python, possibly Venetian, currently in the Victoria and Albert Museum, 16th century

Relief of a Hittite Chariot from the Pergamon Museum in Berlin

Stone panel from the North Palace of Ashurbanipal, Nineveh, northern Iraq, Neo-Assyrian, c645 BC. The relief shows the stringing of the bow i.e the arming of the King in his chariot

Robin Hood, legendary English folk hero and outlaw and champion of the poor, early 19th century. Robin (c1250-c1350)), an expert with the longbow and the quarter-staff, drawing his bow

Japanese plate, 1850-1875. A seated warrior in full armour holding a bow and fan, with a quiver of arrows on his back. Cloisonne enamel on copper. From the Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Unhorsing of a Pawnee warrior by Dakota Sioux warrior Zintka Mato (Dog Bear), c1889-1927. Artist: Kills Two
Unhorsing of a Pawnee warrior by the spear of Dakota Sioux warrior Zintka Mato (Dog Bear), c1889-1927

North American San Francisco Indians hunting with bows and arrows, c1840

The Bear Hunt, 1875. Artist: Making Medicine
The Bear Hunt, 1875. Drawing by Making Medicine, a Cheyenne (North American Plains Indian), while held prisoner at Fort Marion, Florida

Mounted Grand Plains Indian hunting Buffalo with bow and arrow, c1890-c1927. Artist: Kills Two
Mounted Grand Plains Indian hunting Buffalo (North American Bison) with bow and arrow, c1890-c1927

Venezuelans attacking Spanish conquistadors, c16th century. Artist: Hieronyouse Koler
Venezuelans attacking Spanish conquistadors, c16th century. Europeans in a tent eating and drinking (bottom right) and sitting in a privy or wash house (top left) are taken by surprise by natives

Battle between Alexander and the Persian king Darius III, 4th century BC
Battle between Alexander the Great and the Persian king Darius III, 4th century BC. Illustration after a Persian manuscript made in the Middle Ages or later

Roman soldiers, 1801. Standards of Roman legions (top) and weapons and armour used by Roman soldiers (bottom). From Ancells Monthly Military Companion, 1801

Battle between Nuno de Guzman and inhabitants of Michuacan, Mexico, 16th century. De Guzman and his native Tlazcalan allies attacking Michuacan

Ashurnasirpal II, King of Assyria, c9th century BC
Ashurnasirpal II, King of Assyria. Ashurnasirpal, king from 883-859 BC, leading an assault on a city with battering rams and siege engines. Bas-relief from the British Museum

Bodyguard of Persian Kings, 6th-5th century BC. Frieze from the audience hall of the citadel of Darius I (548-486 BC) at Susa, excavated by French archaeologist Marcel-Auguste Dieulafoy in 1885

Russians routing Bulgarians in a cavalry skirmish. Chromolithograph from a 10th century Sclavonian manuscript in the Vatican Library

Selim I, Emperor of Turkey from 1512. Selims (1465-1520) army attacking Persians under Ismail I (1487-1524), founder of the Safavid dynasty, at Khoi, Iran in 1514

Mounted Muscovite warriors, 1556. Cavalry equipped with bows and arrow, swords and quilted armour

Painted and inlaid coffer from the Treasure of Tutankhamun, Ancient Egyptian, c1325 BC. A coffer decorated with a scene of a king in a war chariot

Apollo, Ancient Greek god of music, poetry, archery, prophecy and healing, 1798. Apollo depicted as the perfection of youthful manhood. Laurel was his plant

Merchants transporting goods to the coast and a waiting vessel by camel, 1575. From Cosmographie Universelle by Andre Thevet. (Paris 1575)

Events of the The Hundred Years War, (20th century). From an anti-British brochure titled Who has been the enemy of France through History?

The warrior Minamoto No Yoshitsune on horseback, Japanese, 1886. Artist: Utagawa Yoshimori
The warrior Minamoto No Yoshitsune on horseback, Japanese, 1886. From a series titled Famous Warrior Heroes by Utagawa Yoshimori (1830-1885) published in 1886

King Alfred burning the cakes, 878 (c1900). Legend has it that Alfred (849-899), offered shelter from the Danes by a woman at Athelney in the Somerset marshes

Witch shooting a man in the foot with an enchanted arrow made from a hazel wand, 1489. From De Laniis et phitonicis mulieribus by Ulrich Molitor. [Constance, 1489]

Attic plate with an image of an archer in Scythian dress, 5th century BC. Artist: Epiktetos
Attic plate with an red-figure image of an archer in Scythian dress, from the British Museums collection, 5th century BC

Onondaga village attacked by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain, 1615. Onondaga were Iroquoian-speaking people inhabiting villages of bark and wood longhouses occupied by related families

Portrait of Babylonian King Marduk-Nadin-Akke in black limestone. This appears on a Babylonian boundary-stone, recording the purchase of a field on the Shumunder Canal, by Marduk-Nasir

North American Indians hunting buffalo, c1870
North American Indians hunting buffalo (North American Bison) on prairies with bows and arrows and spears, c1870

North American Indian hunting buffalo, 1861
North American Indian, mounted on horse, hunting buffalo (bison) with a bow and arrow, 1861. Hand-coloured engraving

The Battle of Love and Chastity, 1504-1523 Artist: Perugino
The Battle of Love and Chastity, 1504-1523. A combat between the forces of virtue and lust. From the Musee du Louvre, Paris

Cupid shooting an arrow carrying a love letter, American Valentine card, 1908. He stands by a red heart inscribed with a message and surrounded by sweet violet (Viola odorata) which

The Niobe of Nations, 1870. Artist: Joseph Swain
The Niobe of Nations, 1870. A weeping Frances gathers her sisters, Paris, Metz and Lyons around her, Paris defiant to the last

Commodus In The Arena
Illustration of a Commodus In The Arena

Valentine Cupids with Love Letter
Illustration of a Valentine Cupids with Love Letter

Painted clay slabs
Antique illustration of Etruscan architecture and art, painted clay slabs

Attack On The Mail
Illustration of an attack on a Wells Fargo mail coach circa 1860. (Photo by Kean Collection/Getty Images)

Navigatio in Brasiliam Americae, Immolation of a Barbarian (page 525)
XIR902335 " Navigatio in Brasiliam Americae", Immolation of a Barbarian (page 525), 1563 (colour engraving) by Bry, Theodore de (1528-98); Service Historique de la Marine, Vincennes

Americae Tertia Pars, attack of the shipwreck survivors taken by the Indians (page 349)
XIR902322 " Americae Tertia Pars", attack of the shipwreck survivors taken by the Indians (page 349), 1562 (colour engraving) by Bry, Theodore de (1528-98); Service Historique de la Marine

Americae Tertia Pars, attacl of the village by the Tuppinjkinsij (page 364)
XIR902324 Americae Tertia Pars, attacl of the village by the Tuppinjkinsij (page 364), 1562 (colour engraving) by Bry, Theodore de (1528-98); Service Historique de la Marine, Vincennes

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Unleashing the ancient power, the bow and arrow pierce through time and history. From Coleridge's 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner' to Robin Hood's legendary statue in Nottingham, England, this weapon holds tales of adventure and heroism. At Oktoberfest in Munich, Archer Cupid points us towards relief while showcasing its versatility as a toilet sign. During the Hundred Years War, longbowmen proved their might on battlefields across Europe. Even in cinema, Prince Achmed wielded this timeless tool in his animated adventures. However, it is essential to acknowledge that not all depictions have been fair or just; boxes of stuccoed wood bear witness to destructive portrayals of Asians and black Africans throughout history. Yet amidst these complexities lies beauty too - Callisto And Artemis embodying grace and skill with their bows drawn taut. As we gaze upon King Edward III waging war at Crecy in 1346 or examine NATI2A-00113 artifact closely, we are reminded that the bow and arrow symbolize both conflict and triumph throughout human existence.