The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Schiavona Broadsword

Schiavona Broadsword

early 1700s
steel and silver wire grip. silver pommel
Overall: 107.3 cm (42 1/4 in.); Blade: 92.7 cm (36 1/2 in.); Grip: 9.8 cm (3 7/8 in.); Guard: 12.7 cm (5 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.705
Location: 210A Armor Court

Did You Know?

A broadsword is a sword with a straight, wide, two-edged blade and was used by European heavy cavalry through the 1800s.

Description

The schiavona-type broadsword features a complex barred guard that slopes forward. Its name derives from the Italian word for "Slavonic" and refers to the Slavonian corps who served as bodyguards to the Doge of Venice until the end of the Venetian Republic in 1797. Such swords were popular mainly with the Venetians.
  • ?-1916
    Frank Gair Macomber (1849-1941), Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1916-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Catalogue of Arms and Armour. [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], 1900. cat. no, 558 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. 117, E71; Reproduced: Plate XXX, E71 archive.org
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. pp. 116, 169; cat. no. 136
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. cat. no. 170, p. 191
  • Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).
  • {{cite web|title=Schiavona Broadsword|url=false|author=|year=early 1700s|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.705