The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 24, 2024

Court Sword

Court Sword

c. 1790

Did You Know?

The blue color on the blade was achieved by adding heat to the metal.

Description

The hilt of this sword is finely finished with cut or faceted steel burnished to resemble cut stones. The neoclassical urn shape of the pommel was especially fashionable in England after 1780 up to the turn of the century. The upper portion of this blade is blued and gilded to provide a feel of great luxury. By the end of the 1700s, civilians no longer regularly wore swords nor used them as weapons. The court sword (or "small" sword as it was known in England) had become a piece of costume jewelry to be worn only with court dress or by military officers in dress uniform. The hilt and often the upper part of the blade became lavishly decorated as is illustrated by this example.
  • -1916
    Frank Gair Macomber (1849-1941), Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum Art
    1916-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Catalogue of Arms and Armour. [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], 1900. cat. # 487 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. 134, E109 archive.org
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. p. 122; cat. no. p. 140, p. 169
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. cat. no. 150, p. 190
  • Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).
    The Cleveland Museum of Art (09/10/1998); "Armor Court Reinstallation"
  • {{cite web|title=Court Sword|url=false|author=|year=c. 1790|access-date=24 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.1095