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Source Description
The hilt of this sword is finely finished with cut or faceted steel burnished to resemble cut stones. The neoclassical urn shape of the pommel was especially fashionable in England after 1780 up to the turn of the century. The upper portion of this blade is blued and gilded to provide a feel of great luxury. By the end of the 1700s, civilians no longer regularly wore swords nor used them as weapons. The court sword (or "small" sword as it was known in England) had become a piece of costume jewelry to be worn only with court dress or by military officers in dress uniform. The hilt and often the upper part of the blade became lavishly decorated as is illustrated by this example.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
95328
label
Court Sword
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
95328
contentType
object
title
Court Sword
description
The hilt of this sword is finely finished with cut or faceted steel burnished to resemble cut stones. The neoclassical urn shape of the pommel was especially fashionable in England after 1780 up to the turn of the century. The upper portion of this blade is blued and gilded to provide a feel of great luxury. By the end of the 1700s, civilians no longer regularly wore swords nor used them as weapons. The court sword (or "small" sword as it was known in England) had become a piece of costume jewelry to be worn only with court dress or by military officers in dress uniform. The hilt and often the upper part of the blade became lavishly decorated as is illustrated by this example.
date
c. 1790
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60763123
genreSpecific
Arms and Armor
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 99.7 cm (39 1/4 in.); Blade: 82.9 cm (32 5/8 in.); Guard: 8.3 cm (3 1/4 in.)
cul
England, London or Birmingham, late 18th Century
accession
1916.1095
Source extras
tec
steel; silver hilt, polished and faceted; blade partially blued and gilded
tombstone
Court Sword, c. 1790. England, London or Birmingham, late 18th Century. Steel; silver hilt, polished and faceted; blade partially blued and gilded; overall: 99.7 cm (39 1/4 in.); blade: 82.9 cm (32 5/8 in.); guard: 8.3 cm (3 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance, 1916.1095
collection
MED - Arms & Armor
didYouKnow
The blue color on the blade was achieved by adding heat to the metal.
citations
citation
<em>Catalogue of Arms and Armour</em>. [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], 1900.
page_number
cat. # 487
citation
Gilchrist, Helen Ives. <em>A Catalogue of the Collection of Arms & 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. 134, E109
citation
Fliegel, Stephen N. <em>Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998.
page_number
p. 122; cat. no. p. 140, p. 169
citation
Fliegel, Stephen N. <em>Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007.
page_number
cat. no. 150, p. 190
creditline
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:06:37.345000
sourceId
95328
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Arms & Armor
med
steel; silver hilt, polished and faceted; blade partially blued and gilded
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
ad83c57b63d496d1