The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 19, 2024
Pillow Sword
c. 1650
Overall: 93 cm (36 5/8 in.); Blade: 77.8 cm (30 5/8 in.); Quillions: 9.5 cm (3 3/4 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1495
Location: 210A Armor Court
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.- Frank Gair Macomber; Boston; cat.# 81.
- Catalogue of Arms and Armour. Vol. 2, 16th century. [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], [1900-1915]. Mentioned and Reproduced: No. (81) 83 archive.orgGilchrist, Helen Ives. A Catalogue of the Collection of Arms & Armor Presented to the Cleveland Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs. John Long Severance; 1916-1923. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924. Mentioned: p. 115, E66 archive.org
- Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).The Cleveland Museum of Art (09/10/1998); "Armor Court Reinstallation"
- {{cite web|title=Pillow Sword|url=false|author=|year=c. 1650|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.1495