Scarf Sword
Culture
German
Date1650–1680
Mediumsteel, iron and wood
Dimensions102.2 × 87.3 cm (40 1/4 × 34 3/8 in.), 1 lb (weight)
ClassificationsArms and Armor
Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection
Object number2014.496
DescriptionLenticular section blade with 6-inch fuller of deep and narrow profile. Guard with large side ring with carved baluster at center. Ring is slightly deformed. Quillon block similarly carved, and textured with longitudinal scoring. Quillons of S-curve form having spherical terminals with carving similar to side-ring baluster; terminals end in small teats. Forward quillon is bent, perhaps from same event as side ring. Fluted, fig-shaped pommel surmounted by a button, with repeened tang. Wooden grip, perhaps original, but now lacking its former soft covering. Turks-heads above and below, woven of twisted iron wire; similar wire is wound in the grooves that spiral around the wooden grip.Tang has also been bent, so that the grip and pommel are slightly out of alignment.
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