id:			108744
accession number:	1926.429
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1926.429
updated:		2023-08-26 11:09:31.746000

Single-Edged Knife (Scramasax), c. 500–700. Merovingian, Migration period, 6th-7th Century. Iron, brass, gold foil, gold wire, gemstones; overall: 54.3 x 6.4 cm (21 3/8 x 2 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1926.429

title:				Single-Edged Knife (Scramasax)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 500–700
creation date earliest:		500
creation date latest:		700
current location:		
creditline:			Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Merovingian, Migration period, 6th-7th Century
technique:	iron, brass, gold foil, gold wire, gemstones
department:	Medieval Art
collection:	MED - Migration Period
type:		Arms and Armor
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 54.3 x 6.4 cm (21 3/8 x 2 1/2 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* Baltimore, Balitimore Museum of Art: "Early CHristian and Byzantine Art" April 24--June 24, 1947.

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PROVENANCE

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fun fact:


digital description:


wall description:
The scramasax, a single-edged knife, was a general purpose implement. It could serve equally well as a tool or as a weapon and usually did not exceed 12 inches in length. As with most objects of the Migration period, iron weapons survive as excavated grave goods and tend to be heavily corroded. The grips, now missing, were probably fashioned from wood or bone and silver inlay decorated the pommels (the knob on the hilt, or handle). The ornamental gold foil bands, perhaps from the original scabbards (the cases in which the blades of swords or daggers are kept) have survived relatively intact.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
	page number: 	Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 88
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1958/page/n30

	Gertsman, Elina and Barbara H. Rosenwein. <em>The Middle Ages in 50 Objects</em>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
	page number: 	Mentioned: p. 164-167; Reproduced: p. 165
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1926.429/1926.429_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1926.429/1926.429_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1926.429/1926.429_full.tif