Collection record · Objects & craft
Executioner's Sword
The collection record classifies this work as arms and armor. It is dated late 1600s. Recorded culture or place: Germany, late 17th Century.
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A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Executioner's Sword
- Date
- late 1600s
- Culture / origin
- Germany, late 17th Century
- Materials and technique
- steel, wood, brass and copper wire
- Dimensions
- Overall: 108.9 cm (42 7/8 in.); Blade: 85.7 cm (33 3/4 in.); Quillions: 22.5 cm (8 7/8 in.); Grip: 15 cm (5 7/8 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1916.1620
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
Execution by decapitation was generally reserved for the nobility during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Although the axe was favored in England, for centuries swords were used throughout Central Europe. The blades were often etched with moralizing inscriptions and designs representing Justice (as here), the gallows, the rack, or the Crucifixion. By the early 1700s swords were no longer primarily used in Europe for executions, but they still functioned as symbols of power. This sword was probably ceremonial for a formal procedure or procession.
FOLLOW THE SOURCE
Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
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