Executioner's Sword (blade dated 1634): Art, History and Details

Executioner's Sword (blade dated 1634) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

An executioner's sword is specifically designed and balanced for decapitation, not combat. It usually features short quillons or cross guards, as the hands did not need added protection, and a blunt end. In wide use during the 1600s, by the 1700s they were largely out of use except for ceremonial purposes.

Object facts

• Title: Executioner's Sword
• Date: blade dated 1634
• Culture: Germany
• Type: Arms and Armor
• Technique: steel
• Dimensions: Overall: 98.1 cm (38 5/8 in.); Blade: 75.3 cm (29 5/8 in.); Quillions: 15.5 cm (6 1/8 in.); Grip: 22.5 cm (8 7/8 in.)
• Collection: MED - Arms & Armor
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1916.1616

A detail from the museum

The blades of executioner's swords were often decorated with moralistic inscriptions.

Collection credit

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance

Further reading listed by the museum

• 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].
• 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.
• Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.