The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 27, 2023

Parade Sword

c. 1500–1525

Italy, Ferrara, early 16th Century

Steel, etched and gilded

Overall: 101.9 cm (40 1/8 in.); Blade: 85.4 cm (33 5/8 in.); Quillions: 17.5 cm (6 7/8 in.); Grip: 11.1 cm (4 3/8 in.)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.704

Location

210A Armor Court

Fun Fact

Ercole dei Fedeli was an Italian goldsmith and master sword engraver; his name appears on this blade.

Description

This parade sword has a steel blade with etched and gilded bands of decoration. The decoration includes allegorical figures such as dancing satyrs and nymphs, amorini or cupids, and triumphs. The pommel, the rounded knob on the end of the handle, is flat and shaped like a shield; a raised rosette further embellishes it. The quillons or two transverse projecting members forming the cross guard, are flattened and drooping toward the blade.

Inscriptions

Inscription

Ercole dei Fideli

Provenance
Richard Zschille (1847-1903), Leipzig, Germany
-1916
Frank Gair Macomber (1849-1941), Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
1916-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Catalogue of Arms and Armour. Vol. 2, 16th century. [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], [1900-1915]. Mentioned and Reproduced: No. (95) 98 archive.org
Rudolph Lepke’s Kunst-Auctions-Haus, Berlin. R. Zschille’sche waffensammlung. Mar 21-22, 1900. Mentioned: p. 11, lot 61; Reproduced: lot 61 archive.org
Gilchrist, Helen Ives. A Catalogue of the Collection of Arms & Armor Presented to the Cleveland Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs. John Long Severance; 1916-1923. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924. Mentioned: p. 99, E35; Reproduced: Plate XXIII, E35 archive.org
Cleveland Museum of Art, and Helen Ives Gilchrist. Handbook of the Severance Collection of Arms and Armor. 2d ed., 1948. Reproduction: p. 37 archive.org
Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. cat. no. 135, p. 169
Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. cat. no. 131, p. 188
Exhibition history

Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.704