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Basket-Hilt Broadsword ("Mortuary Sword")
hilt: c. 1640–50; blade: 1700s
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
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.
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Details
- Title: Basket-Hilt Broadsword ("Mortuary Sword")
- Date Created: hilt: c. 1640–50; blade: 1700s
- Physical Dimensions: Overall: 101.6 cm (40 in.); Blade: 85.2 cm (33 9/16 in.); Hilt: 13 cm (5 1/8 in.)
- Provenance: Sir Thomas Fairfax (1612-1671), Yorkshire, England (purportedly), Sir Cuthbert Sharp (1781-1849), Newcastle, England, Prince Augustus Frederick (1773-1843), Duke of Sussex, England, George Francis William Henry Denison (1892-1920), Earl of Londesborough, England, Edwin J. Brett (1828-1895), London, England, S.J. Whawell (1871-1899), London, England, Frank Gair Macomber (1849-1941), Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Type: Arms and Armor
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.696
- Medium: steel, chiseled; inlaid gilt- silver foil; wood and wire grip
- Inscriptions: ANDRIA FERRARA
- Fun Fact: The ornate basket hilt which protects the hand, is chiseled with leafy decorative scrollwork and grotesque masks.
- Department: Medieval Art
- Culture: Hilt: England; Blade: Germany, Solingen (?), Hilt: 17th Century; Blade: 18th Century
- Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance
- Collection: MED - Arms & Armor
- Accession Number: 1916.696
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