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Source Description
The decoration on this sword's hilt includes an image of King Charles I of England (beheaded in 1649). Because the image resembles the king's death mask, this sword is known as a "mortuary sword." It may have belonged to Sir Thomas Fairfax, a general of the Parliamentary cavalry during the English Civil War (1642-51). Large, double-edged broadswords, designed for heavy cavalry use, were common from the 1600s through the 1800s.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
97041
label
Basket-Hilt Broadsword ("Mortuary Sword")
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
97041
contentType
object
title
Basket-Hilt Broadsword ("Mortuary Sword")
description
The decoration on this sword's hilt includes an image of King Charles I of England (beheaded in 1649). Because the image resembles the king's death mask, this sword is known as a "mortuary sword." It may have belonged to Sir Thomas Fairfax, a general of the Parliamentary cavalry during the English Civil War (1642-51). Large, double-edged broadswords, designed for heavy cavalry use, were common from the 1600s through the 1800s.
date
hilt: c. 1640–50; blade: 1700s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60761687
genreSpecific
Arms and Armor
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 101.6 cm (40 in.); Blade: 85.2 cm (33 9/16 in.); Hilt: 13 cm (5 1/8 in.)
cul
Hilt: England; Blade: Germany, Solingen (?), Hilt: 17th Century; Blade: 18th Century
accession
1916.696
Source extras
tec
steel, chiseled; inlaid gilt- silver foil; wood and wire grip
tombstone
Basket-Hilt Broadsword ("Mortuary Sword"), hilt: c. 1640–50; blade: 1700s. Hilt: England; Blade: Germany, Solingen (?), Hilt: 17th Century; Blade: 18th Century. Steel, chiseled; inlaid gilt- silver foil; wood and wire grip; overall: 101.6 cm (40 in.); blade: 85.2 cm (33 9/16 in.); hilt: 13 cm (5 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance, 1916.696
collection
MED - Arms & Armor
inscriptions
inscription
ANDRIA FERRARA
inscription_remark
On the blade.
didYouKnow
The ornate basket hilt which protects the hand, is chiseled with leafy decorative scrollwork and grotesque masks.
citations
citation
<em>Catalogue of Arms and Armour</em>. Vol. 4, <em>17th to 19th century and a few pieces of iron work</em>. [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], [1900-1915].
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: No. (211) 230
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. 121-122, E79; Reproduced: Plate XXX, E79
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art, and Helen Ives Gilchrist. <em>Handbook of the Severance Collection of Arms and Armor</em>. 2d ed., 1948.
page_number
Reproduction: p. 40
citation
Fliegel, Stephen N.<em> Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998.
page_number
p. 105; cat. no. 128, p. 168
citation
Fliegel, Stephen. "The Armor Court." <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine </em>38, no. 7 (September 1998): 4-7.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 7
citation
Fliegel, Stephen N. <em>Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007.
page_number
cat. no. 166, p. 190
creditline
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:13:42.198000
sourceId
97041
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Arms & Armor
med
steel, chiseled; inlaid gilt- silver foil; wood and wire grip
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
aa76a2b285210213