Collection record · Everyday wonders
Single-Edged Knife (Scramasax)
The collection record classifies this work as arms and armor. It is dated 600s. Recorded culture or place: Frankish, Champagne(?), Migration period, 7th century.
Explore the object recordOBJECT RECORD
A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Single-Edged Knife (Scramasax)
- Date
- 600s
- Culture / origin
- Frankish, Champagne(?), Migration period, 7th century
- Materials and technique
- iron, copper, and gold foil
- Dimensions
- Not specified by the museum
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1919.1014
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
The scramasax, a single-edged knife, was a general purpose implement. It could serve equally well as a tool or as a weapon and generally did not exceed 12 inches in length. As with most objects of the Migration period, iron weapons survive as excavated grave goods and tend to be heavily corroded. The grips, now missing, were probably fashioned from wood or bone and silver inlay decorated the pommels (the knob on the hilt, or handle). The ornamental gold foil bands, perhaps from the original scabbards (the cases in which the blades of swords or daggers are kept) have survived relatively intact.
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Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust · 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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