id:			95816
accession number:	1916.1501
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.1501
updated:		2023-08-23 18:08:24.999000

Small Sword, c. 1770. Germany, 18th century. Steel, gilt-brass, porcelain grip; overall: 90.5 cm (35 5/8 in.); blade: 76.9 cm (30 1/4 in.); grip: 11.3 cm (4 7/16 in.); hilt: 8.3 cm (3 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1501

title:				Small Sword
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1770
creation date earliest:		1765
creation date latest:		1775
current location:		210A Armor Court
creditline:			Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance
copyright:			

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culture:	Germany, 18th century
technique:	steel, gilt-brass, porcelain grip
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: 90.5 cm (35 5/8 in.); Blade: 76.9 cm (30 1/4 in.); Grip: 11.3 cm (4 7/16 in.); Hilt: 8.3 cm (3 1/4 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


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:
Small-swords with porcelain grips became fashionable in the mid- to late 1700s and added a colorful splash to male attire.

digital description:
The small-sword was a light, quick weapon that emerged during the 18th century. It was carried by unarmored civilians, the noblemen of the upper classes. The porcelain hilt, elaborately decorated, would have been visible even when the sword was sheathed–making this object more an accessory of male attire than a utilitarian weapon.

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. 490
	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. 136, E113
	url:		https://archive.org/details/SeveranceCollection1924/page/n203

	Fliegel, Stephen N. <em>Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998.
	page number: 	pp. 120, 170; cat. no. 158
	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. 198, p. 192
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1501/1916.1501_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1501/1916.1501_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1501/1916.1501_full.tif