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Hilt: England; Blade: Germany, Solingen (?), Hilt: 17th Century; Blade: 18th Century / hilt: c. 1640–50; blade: 1700s

Basket-Hilt Broadsword ("Mortuary Sword")

The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Basket-Hilt Broadsword ("Mortuary Sword") as arms and armor (Hilt: England; Blade: Germany, Solingen (?), Hilt: 17th Century; Blade: 18th Century · hilt: c. 1640–50; blade: 1700s).

WHY IT’S INTERESTING

The ornate basket hilt which protects the hand, is chiseled with leafy decorative scrollwork and grotesque masks.

SERENDIPITYA little unexpected

FamiliarWeird

A CLOSER LOOK

The museum identifies this arms and armor as steel, chiseled; inlaid gilt- silver foil; wood and wire grip.

The museum's collection notes: The decoration on this sword's hilt includes an image of King Charles I of England (beheaded in 1649). Because the image resembles the king's death mask, this sword is known as a "mortuary sword." It may have belonged to Sir Thomas Fairfax, a general of the Parliamentary cavalry during the English Civil War (1642-51). Large, double-edged broadswords, designed for heavy cavalry use, were common from the 1600s through the 1800s.

FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE

The Cleveland Museum of ArtBasket-Hilt Broadsword ("Mortuary Sword")

Original explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.