{
"data": {
"id": 95875,
"accession_number": "1916.1554",
"share_license_status": "CC0",
"tombstone": "Halberd, 1600s. Switzerland. Steel; rectangular wood haft with planed corners; overall: 160 cm (63 in.); blade: 19.3 cm (7 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance, 1916.1554",
"current_location": "210A Armor Court",
"title": "Halberd",
"creation_date": "1600s",
"creation_date_earliest": 1600,
"creation_date_latest": 1699,
"artists_tags": [],
"culture": [
"Switzerland"
],
"technique": "steel; rectangular wood haft with planed corners",
"support_materials": [],
"department": "Medieval Art",
"collection": "MED - Arms & Armor",
"type": "Arms and Armor",
"measurements": "Overall: 160 cm (63 in.); Blade: 19.3 cm (7 5/8 in.)",
"dimensions": {
"overall": {
"length": 1.6
},
"blade": {
"width": 0.193,
"length": 0.393
}
},
"state_of_the_work": null,
"edition_of_the_work": null,
"copyright": null,
"inscriptions": [],
"exhibitions": {
"current": [
{
"id": 190103,
"title": "Armor Court Reinstallation",
"description": "Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).",
"opening_date": "1998-09-10T00:00:00"
}
],
"legacy": []
},
"provenance": [
{
"description": "Frank Gair Macomber (1849-1941), Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": [],
"date": "?-1916",
"sortorder": null
},
{
"description": "The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": [],
"date": "1916-",
"sortorder": 2
}
],
"find_spot": null,
"related_works": [],
"former_accession_numbers": [],
"did_you_know": "By the mid-1500s halberds started to change in appearance; elements were exaggerated to become more ornamental.",
"description": "The halberd was a staff weapon favored by European infantries (foot soldiers) of the 1400s and 1500s for its versatility and deadly effect. The word halberd comes from the German words Halm (staff) and Barte (axe). The halberd is, in fact, an axe that served multiple functions: the axe blade was used for hacking, the spike for thrusting, and the beak for piercing plate armor or for pulling a knight from his saddle. The halberd was used by shock troops (those who lead an attack) and by Swiss and German mercenaries. After about 1550, the halberd gradually became less functional. Its large blade provided space for coats of arms and insignia. By the late 1500s, the parade halberd had become a ceremonial weapon for palace guards.",
"external_resources": {
"wikidata": [
"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q60779067"
],
"internet_archive": [
"https://archive.org/details/clevelandart-1916.1554-halberd"
]
},
"citations": [
{
"citation": "Catalogue of Arms and Armour. Vol. 1, 14th & 15th centuries. [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], [1900-1915].",
"page_number": "Mentioned and Reproduced: No. 3",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/CatArmsArmour1/page/n34"
},
{
"citation": "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.",
"page_number": "Mentioned: p. 186, H18",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/SeveranceCollection1924/page/n267"
},
{
"citation": "Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998.",
"page_number": "pp. 67, 129, 167; cat. no.101",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007.",
"page_number": "cat. no. 104, p. 187",
"url": null
}
],
"url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.1554",
"images": {
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"creditline": "Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance",
"image_credit": null,
"sketchfab_id": null,
"sketchfab_url": null,
"gallery_donor_text": null,
"athena_id": 95875,
"creators": [],
"legal_status": "accessioned",
"accession_date": "1916-04-10T00:00:00",
"sortable_date": 1600,
"date_added_to_oa": null,
"date_text": "1600s",
"collapse_artists": false,
"on_loan": false,
"recently_acquired": false,
"record_type": "object",
"conservation_statement": null,
"has_conservation_images": false,
"cover_accession_number": null,
"is_nazi_era_provenance": false,
"impression": null,
"alternate_titles": [],
"is_highlight": false,
"updated_at": "2026-03-27 00:00:49.661000"
}
}