id:			95330
accession number:	1916.1097
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.1097
updated:		2023-02-04 20:37:36.840000

Smallsword, c. 1730. France, Paris, 18th century. Steel, blued, with gold encrusted decoration; chased and engraved; silver wire; 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.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1097

title:				Smallsword
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1730
creation date earliest:		1725
creation date latest:		1735
current location:		210A Armor Court
creditline:			Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance
copyright:			

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culture:	France, Paris, 18th century
technique:	steel, blued, with gold encrusted decoration; chased and engraved; silver wire
department:	Medieval Art
collection:	MED - Arms & Armor
type:		Arms and Armor
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: 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.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:

	description:	gilt and blued shell
	watermarks:	

inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Armor Court Reinstallation
	opening date:   1998-09-10T00:00:00
	<i>Armor Court Reinstallation</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	Frank Gair Macomber (1849-1941), Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: ?-1916
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1916-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:
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.

digital description:


wall 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.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	<em>Catalogue of Arms and Armour. </em>[Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], 1900.
	page number: 	cat. no. 494
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CatArmsArmour1/page/n219/mode/2up

	Gilchrist, Helen Ives. <em>A Catalogue of the Collection of Arms &amp; Armor Presented to the Cleveland Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs. John Long Severance; 1916-1923</em>. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924.
	page number: 	Mentioned: p. 135, E111
	url:		https://archive.org/details/SeveranceCollection1924/page/n204

	Fliegel, Stephen N. <em>Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998.
	page number: 	pp. 118, 169; cat. no. 142
	url:		

	Fliegel, Stephen N. <em>Arms &amp; Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. </em>[Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007.
	page number: 	cat. no. 194, p. 192
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1097/1916.1097_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1097/1916.1097_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1097/1916.1097_full.tif