Scarf Sword
Dateabout 1660
Mediumsteel, iron, wood and wire
Dimensions98.1 × 84.5 cm (38 5/8 × 33 1/4 in.), 1 lb 10 oz (weight)
ClassificationsArms and Armor
Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection
Object number2014.497
DescriptionSmooth, mushroom-shaped pommel with broad, flat button; tang has been repeened. Original wooden grip with spiral grooves; some losses to the wood. Grip wrapped with twisted brass wire; perhaps with outer later of 3 twisted brass wires along line of the grooves. Turk's heads at top and bottom of grip. Iron guard with sleeve covering top of grip, stubby quillons terminating in mushroom-shaped finials similar to pommel; outer side ring formed as if of two arms with abutting mushroom terminals to match quillons; inner side-ring supporting thumb-ring, welded at other end to sleeve; D-shaped knuckle guard similarly formed to outer side-ring, tapering to a point where it contacts the pommel.
Hollow-ground blade of diamond cross-section, bent inward a bit past the midpoint. Blade etched at proximal third with abstracted figures of classical warriors. Above is the inscription "[S]OLI DE[O]/GLORIA"; below, on the outside, "[F]IDES E[T?]/[FORTITUDO?]"; below, on the inside '[S]PES ME[A]/[E]ST DE[O?]", ie. "Glory only to God, faith and fortitude, my hope is in God." Foliate decoration at top and bottom.
Surface is heavily patinated, encrusted, and with corrosion losses. Blade has lost much of its edges, to judge by the losses to the inscription, which may be due to long use and resharpening, or perhaps deliberate reshaping. The heavy patination of the blade suggests that the change in shape is quite old.
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
