Watch a video to find out.
Stay logged in
Go to Navigation Go to Content Go to Search
Back to browse highlights
Fullscreen
Dressing in Steel: Part One (00:37:39) 700 views
Dressing in Steel: Part Two (00:20:04) 288 views
A Visit to the Armor Galleries (00:30:21) 4367 views
Bashford Dean and the Creation of the Arms and Armor Department, 1904–1929 (00:30:12) 227 views
The Art of Arms and Armor: Challenges of Research, Display, and Education (00:33:09) 321 views
Curators, Collectors, and Dealers: The Growth of the Arms and Armor Collection, 1929 to the Present (00:36:37) 208 views
Cross Hilt Sword
Saber (Peidao) with Scabbard
Saber
Blade and Mounting for a Sword (Katana)
SWORD AND SCABBARD
Browse current and upcoming exhibitions and events.
Exhibitions:
Events:
This artwork is not on display
The silver-embellished pommel and the crossguard made of copper alloy (rather than steel) wrapped with silver wire suggest that this sword was intended for presentation or for ceremonial use rather than as a fighting weapon. The Latin quotation inscribed on the pommel reads in translation, "here, too, virture has its due reward" (Virgil, Aeneid, book 1, line 461). The inscription (now illegible) on the blade is an early example of the use of etching for the decoration of a weapon. Approximately a century later, acid etching became a popular way to embellish arms and armor and an important technique in printmaking.
Inscription: Inscribed on the pommel in latin, in gothic lettering: "sunt hic etiam sua praemia lavdi" Translation: "Here, too, virtue (valor) has its due reward" (Virgil, Aeneid, book 1, line 461) Inscribed on the blade in latin, in large slightly raised gothic lettering, now illegible: "DOMIN...TEMPOR[A?]SANCTA MA[RIA?]"
Close