Excavated Sword
Culture
Central European
,
Cultureperhaps
German
Date1150–1175
Mediumiron
Dimensions101.6 × 9.5 cm (40 × 3 3/4 in.), 1 lb, 8 oz (weight)
ClassificationsArms and Armor
Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection
Object number2014.456
Label TextThis sword dates to the time of the Crusades, when knights were newly established as the warrior class throughout Western Europe and the culture of chivalry was taking shape. Yet despite these developments, swords of this period were much like those of the late Viking Age. Like earlier swords, this one has a straight crossbar; a wide, shallow “fuller” running up the middle of the blade; and a “Brazil-nut” pommel.ProvenanceCarl Claes (Mulhausen, Thuer, Germany)
Henry G. Walters (Baltimore, MD).
Purchased by Museum on January 12, 1934 from the American Art Association, Anderson Galleries (NYC), lot #410 in the Walters Sale, #4075. Price paid, $17.50, included HAM#s 2036.1-3.
Collection transfer from Higgins Armory, January 2014.On View
Not on view
