The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 24, 2024

Hunting Sword

Hunting Sword

c. 1760–70
Overall: 65 cm (25 9/16 in.); Blade: 52.9 cm (20 13/16 in.); Quillions: 8.9 cm (3 1/2 in.); Grip: 11.6 cm (4 9/16 in.)

Did You Know?

Besides being viewed as a recreation for European nobility and an ancient and hereditary right, hunting was recognized as a necessary and pragmatic skill which supplied an additional source of food and dispatched animals which were considered a menace.

Description

No gentleman's hunting costume was complete without a hunting sword. These special sidearms, designed primarily as defense against dangerous game in the field, were also used to dispatch game at the end of a chase. It was a point of honor among aristocratic hunters to carve and section the game in the field, a further function for which these swords were well suited. They were often made as a set, or garniture, and included smaller knives, forks, and other implements for carving the carcass.
  • Richard Zschille (1847-1903), Leipzig, Germany
    -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. Vol. 2, 16th century. [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], [1900-1915]. Mentioned and Reproduced: No. (100) 103 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. 131, E100 archive.org
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. pp. 138, 171; cat. no. 175
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. cat. no. 145, p. 189
  • Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).
  • {{cite web|title=Hunting Sword|url=false|author=|year=c. 1760–70|access-date=24 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.1686