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Source Description
The "pillow-sword" is so-named because of where it was kept. A sword like this one, with a straight blade and relatively simple hilt, would have been suspended above a headboard within arm's reach for bedside defense should an intruder attack while the household was asleep and vulnerable.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
95807
label
Pillow Sword
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
95807
contentType
object
title
Pillow Sword
description
The "pillow-sword" is so-named because of where it was kept. A sword like this one, with a straight blade and relatively simple hilt, would have been suspended above a headboard within arm's reach for bedside defense should an intruder attack while the household was asleep and vulnerable.
date
c. 1650
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60762489
genreSpecific
Arms and Armor
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 93 cm (36 5/8 in.); Blade: 77.8 cm (30 5/8 in.); Quillions: 9.5 cm (3 3/4 in.)
cul
Italy, 17th century
accession
1916.1495
Source extras
tec
steel, pierced; leather and wood
tombstone
Pillow Sword, c. 1650. Italy, 17th century. Steel, pierced; leather and wood; overall: 93 cm (36 5/8 in.); blade: 77.8 cm (30 5/8 in.); quillions: 9.5 cm (3 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance, 1916.1495
collection
MED - Arms & Armor
citations
citation
<em>Catalogue of Arms and Armour.</em> Vol. 2, <em>16th century. </em>[Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], [1900-1915].
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: No. (81) 83
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. 115, E66
creditline
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance
galleryDonorText
Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Armor Court
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:09:03.205000
sourceId
95807
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Arms & Armor
med
steel, pierced; leather and wood
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
03f5ccb981236ddf