The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Smallsword

Smallsword

c. 1730
Overall: 94.5 cm (37 3/16 in.); Blade: 77.2 cm (30 3/8 in.); Grip: 13.2 cm (5 3/16 in.); Guard: 8 cm (3 1/8 in.)

Did You Know?

The decorative design of the hilt was often carried down onto the blade, which could be chased or etched with designs, and gilded or blued as seen here.

Description

During the 1700s, the small-sword emerged as a light, quick weapon. Like the rapier it was carried by unarmored civilians, the noblemen of the upper classes. Over time this delicate sword became more an accessory of male attire than a weapon essential to life and death. The sword hilt, which shows even when the blade is sheathed, became the ground for elaborate decoration. These small swords thus represent the final stage in the evolution of the sword, from the edged weapons of antiquity to the elegantly refined blades of the 1700s and 1800s.
  • ?-1916
    Frank Gair Macomber (1849-1941), Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1916-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Catalogue of Arms and Armour. [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], 1900. cat. no. 494 archive.org
    Gilchrist, Helen Ives. A Catalogue of the Collection of Arms & Armor Presented to the Cleveland Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs. John Long Severance; 1916-1923. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924. Mentioned: p. 135, E111 archive.org
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. pp. 118, 169; cat. no. 142
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. cat. no. 194, p. 192
  • Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).
  • {{cite web|title=Smallsword|url=false|author=|year=c. 1730|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.1097