The Antique Battledore 1648
Earliest Form of Badminton
Manuf.:
Model:
Spec.:
Year *:
Battledore Racquet Manufactory
The Antique Battledore
Solid wood, antique battledore
1648
*documented or estimated
Background facts:
The antique battledore belongs to a tradition of equipment used for early forms of court tennis, a game that enjoyed popularity among European aristocracy from the Renaissance onward. Such racquets were characterized by a rounded wooden head with a loosely strung gut mesh, typical of early court tennis equipment used in aristocratic circles during the 16th and 17th centuries. Evidence of this style appears in mid-16th-century portraiture, including depictions of noble children holding similar racquets, such as the well-known drawing of Charles Maximilian, later Charles IX of France, from 1552.
In 1648, the Peace of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years’ War and introduced a lasting system of international diplomacy, enabling states to maintain stable relations and commerce. Today, this racquet reflects the continuity of aristocratic leisure during a time when political order was restored and cultural life regained its prominence.
