{
"data": {
"id": 95876,
"accession_number": "1916.1556",
"share_license_status": "CC0",
"tombstone": "Halberd, c. 1480\u20131500. Switzerland. Steel; wood haft (rectangular with planed corners); overall: 205.7 cm (81 in.); blade: 20.3 cm (8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance, 1916.1556",
"current_location": "210A Armor Court",
"title": "Halberd",
"creation_date": "c. 1480\u20131500",
"creation_date_earliest": 1480,
"creation_date_latest": 1500,
"artists_tags": [],
"culture": [
"Switzerland"
],
"technique": "steel; wood haft (rectangular with planed corners)",
"support_materials": [
{
"description": "three incised marks grouped on one side",
"watermarks": []
}
],
"department": "Medieval Art",
"collection": "MED - Arms & Armor",
"type": "Arms and Armor",
"measurements": "Overall: 205.7 cm (81 in.); Blade: 20.3 cm (8 in.)",
"dimensions": {
"overall": {
"length": 2.057,
"length_inch": 81,
"length_inch_fraction": 0.0
},
"blade": {
"width": 0.203,
"width_inch": 8,
"width_inch_fraction": 0.0,
"length": 0.419,
"length_inch": 16,
"length_inch_fraction": 0.5
}
},
"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": [
{
"description": "The Cleveland Museum of Art (09/10/1998); \"Armor Court Reinstallation\"",
"opening_date": "1998-09-10T00:00:00"
}
]
},
"provenance": [
{
"description": "Frank Gair Macomber; Boston; cat.# 4.",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": null,
"date": null,
"sortorder": null
}
],
"find_spot": null,
"related_works": [],
"former_accession_numbers": [],
"did_you_know": "A Franciscan monk wrote in the 1340s how terrible and fierce the Swiss, armed with halberds, were at the Battle of Morgarten.",
"early_education_description": null,
"artlens_description": null,
"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/Q60778205"
],
"internet_archive": [
"https://archive.org/details/clevelandart-1916.1556-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. 4",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/CatArmsArmour1/page/n40"
},
{
"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. 187, H21; Reproduced: Plate XXXIX, H21",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/SeveranceCollection1924/page/n270"
}
],
"url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.1556",
"images": {
"annotation": null,
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"height": "900",
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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": 95876,
"creators": [],
"legal_status": "accessioned",
"accession_date": "1916-05-18T00:00:00",
"sortable_date": 1480,
"date_added_to_oa": null,
"date_text": "c. 1480\u20131500",
"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": "2026-05-29 05:09:25.498000"
}
}