Designed as a defense against large game, such as bear and boar, swords of this type were also worn as civilian sidearms. This example is related in form and decoration to two hunting swords made for Emperor Maximilian I by Hans Sumersperger and therefore may have been intended for a member of the imperial court.
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Title:Hunting Sword
Sword maker:Attributed to Hans Sumersperger (Austrian, Hall, active 1492–98)
Date:ca. 1500
Geography:Hall, Tyrol
Culture:Austrian, Hall
Medium:Steel, copper alloy, horn, bone
Dimensions:L. 49 1/2 in. (125.7 cm); L. of blade 40 in. (101.6 cm); W. of blade 1 7/16 in. (3.6 cm); Wt. 3 ls. 9 oz. (1615.9 g)
Classification:Swords
Credit Line:Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Funds from various donors, 1929
Accession Number:29.158.704
Bashford Dean, New York (until d. 1928; sold by his estate to MMA).
New York. The Cloisters Museum & Gardens. "The Secular Spirit: Life and Art at the End of the Middle Ages," March 28–June 15, 1975, no. 233.
Seattle, Wash. Seattle Art Museum. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," March 11, 1982–June 6, 1982, no. 44.
Denver, Colo. Denver Art Museum. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," July 18–October 10, 1982, no. 44.
San Antonio, Tex. Witte Museum of the San Antonio Museum Association. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," November 13, 1982–February 5, 1983, no. 44.
Minneapolis, Minn. Minneapolis Institute of Arts. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 24–July 31, 1983, no. 44.
San Francisco. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," November 5, 1983–January 28, 1984, no. 44.
Detroit, Mich. Detroit Institute of Arts. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 4–June 17, 1984, no. 44.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Stephen V. Grancsay, and Carl Otto von Kienbusch. The Bashford Dean Collection of Arms and Armor in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Portland, ME: Southworth Press for the Armor and Arms Club of New York City, 1933. p. 196, no. 139, pl. LII.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Secular Spirit: Life and Art at the End of the Middle Ages. New York: Dutton, 1975. p. 221, no. 233, ill.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Helmut Nickel, Stuart W. Pyhrr, Leonid Tarassuk, and American Federation of Arts. The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art: An Exhibition. New York: The Federation, 1982. pp. 90–92, no. 44, ill.
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