The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 1, 2023

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.)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.696

Location

210A Armor Court

Fun Fact

The ornate basket hilt which protects the hand, is chiseled with leafy decorative scrollwork and grotesque masks.

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.

Inscriptions

Inscription

ANDRIA FERRARA

Inscription Remark

On the blade.

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
?-1916
Frank Gair Macomber (1849-1941), Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
1916-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Catalogue of Arms and Armour. Vol. 4, 17th to 19th century and a few pieces of iron work. [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], [1900-1915]. Mentioned and Reproduced: No. (211) 230 archive.org
Gilchrist, 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. 121-122, E79; Reproduced: Plate XXX, E79 archive.org
Cleveland Museum of Art, and Helen Ives Gilchrist. Handbook of the Severance Collection of Arms and Armor. 2d ed., 1948. Reproduction: p. 40 archive.org
Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. p. 105; cat. no. 128, p. 168
Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. cat. no. 166, p. 190
Exhibition history

Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.696