These beautiful early twentieth century collars were sold this year by Bonhams New York. Finely decorated with brass cattle and farmers, they show great workmanship and design, and clearly belonged to valued working dogs. In fact they are designed for Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs, a breed that is rare in the UK.
The Swiss Mountain Dog is a tricolour, short-coated breed and one of the 10 largest dog breeds, the males weighing about 140lb (64kgs). It is both strong and athletic, and is believed to have been instrumental in the development of both the Rottweiler and the St Bernard. Common in Switzerland in the nineteenth century, it was used by farmers and tradesmen to guard farms, herd cattle and pull carts.
Traditionally, Swiss collars were hand-crafted in the Appenzell region of Switzerland and used for the colourful cattle drives that took place in the Summer and Autumn. Herdsmen would wear their best ‘tracht’ or traditional dress and their dog, usually the Swiss Mountain Dog, would be decorated with collars such as these. The cattle would be adorned with colourful traicheln or glocken (alpine cowbells) for their journey up the mountain and back again at the end of the season.
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Posted by Merry Dogs – quality dog collars, dog beds and dog ID tags