Art Institute of Chicago
Thrusting Sword (Estoc)
GermanLinkedCulture matchlcp-403773323a44
- Date
- c.1520—c.1540
- Medium
- Steel, brass, wood, and leather
- Culture
- Germany
- Department
- Applied Arts of Europe
- Institution
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Object ID
- 106214
From the Art Institute of Chicago record
Stiff-bladed swords or estocs were designed to pierce through the joints or gaps of plate armor. They were often kept on the front of the saddle of a well-equipped man-at-arms and used as an auxiliary weapon in addition to an arming sword, war hammer, or mace. This example with its crutch-shaped pommel (top end) is a rare type. This unusual device may have been designed to help wedge the back end of the sword hilt into the user’s elbow or upper arm while holding the blade with two hands and pressing the point through a pinned opponent’s armor.
The authoritative record is held by Art Institute of Chicago. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.
Get printable QR codesHide QR codes
Open QR codes for this object page and the museum record. They stay collapsed until needed.
Provenance & credit
As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.
- Credit line
- George F. Harding Collection
Linked open data
Authority identifiers that link this record into the wider web of cultural data — stable references you can follow to the source.
- Object type
- AAT300036926
Part of a LinkedCulture topic
European Edged Weapons CollectionThese objects are all European swords, daggers, and bladed weapons from the medieval and early modern periods, showcasing the arms and armor traditions across the continent.
336 objects from 4 institutions
Related across collections
Semantically similar works from Art Institute of Chicago and other institutions.