Art Institute of Chicago

Scarf Sword

Hilt: northern European (possibly Swedish)

Date

c. 1660

Medium

Steel, brass, silver, gilding, and wood

Culture

Sweden

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Short, stout, and designed with a minimal guard, this early form of smallsword was highly fashionable throughout northern and central Europe by the middle of the 17th century. The form has been called a scarf sword for the elaborate silk-embroidered scarf-like belts or baldrics from which these delicate swords were suspended.

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