"Walloon-hilt" Broadsword
Dateabout 1650
Mediumsteel, iron, wood and brass wire
Dimensions97.8 × 83.8 cm (38 1/2 × 33 in.), 1 lb, 12 oz (weight)
ClassificationsArms and Armor
Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection
Object number2014.368
DescriptionGlobose pommel with necked pedestal, broad button above, tang has been repeened. One quillon in rear with mushroom-shaped terminal, curved toward blade; outer and inner side-rings filled with pierced plates; outer plate is heart-shaped, inner is kidney-shaped. Knuckle guard and outer guard balustered above midpoint; thumbring fron inner side ring to hilt sleeve.Restored wooden grip covered in worn fabric; brass Turks-heads above and below; grip wrapped in twisted brass wire, lost in central part; grip also wrapped with brass-wire-wrapped cord, perhaps a later modification. The grip has come largely unwound.
Blade of flattened hexagonal section, with very slight fuller.
ProvenanceGift to the Museum from Mrs. Horace L. Mayer (Williamstown, MA) on September 26, 1979. Collection transfer from Higgins Armory, January 2014.
On View
Not on viewCollections
about 1600–1650
about 1650–1700
about 1700–1710
