Sword of Justice

Culture German , perhaps Solingen

Dateabout 1700–1735

Mediumsteel with etching and gilding, bronze with traces of gilding, wood, fish skin, textile

Dimensions102 × 20 × 3.5 cm (40 3/16 × 7 7/8 × 1 3/8 in.)
4 lb, 10 oz (weight)

ClassificationsArms and Armor

Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection

Terms

Object number2014.46.1

DescriptionLong, broad double-edge straight blade with bluntly rounded point. Reinforced at shoulders. Faces with wide medial fuller in forte. Etched with script German text. Both faces of third of blade nearest hilt are etched and gilded with symmetrical strapwork & foliation on hatched ground. At end of decoration is etched figure of Justice with sword & scales, wearing a bilevel, tiered dress having elbow-length sleeves, & standing on footed plinth. At shoulders of blade is a scalloped washer of red felt.

Cruciform hilt of gilded bronze, with presumably wooden grip covered in fish skin, tapering to pommel. At ends of grip are bronze bands decorated with engraved lines. Crossguard reeded at center, then 2 stage--square, then octagonal--having turned terminals.

Pommel fig-shaped, with turned base. Main part of body octagonally faceted and decorated with leafy & scrolling pointillé motifs. Top fluted, with flared, flat button that reveals flattened terminal of tang and copper shim.

The sword has been disassembled and reassembled, as indicated by the irregularities around the peened tang at the button.
Label TextOften called “executioner’s swords,” swords of justice served as icons of political power. Their decoration depicted instruments of torture and punishment as well as symbols of Justice. Less decorative examples were used as beheading implements, but this ceremonial version served purely as a reminder of the majesty of the state, and its power over life and death. The blade is inscribed "When the poor sinner is deprived of life,/then he will be placed under my hand./ When I raise the sword/may God give the poor sinner eternal life." ProvenanceMr. Bill Galino (San Francisco, CA.) Purchased from Mr. Peter Finer, Warwickshire, England on 3 October 1996. Collection transfer from Higgins Armory, January 2014.

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