Cleveland Museum of Art

Hand-and-a-Half Sword

Date

c.1540–80

Medium

steel; wood, leather, sharkskin grip

Culture

Germany

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

A hand-and-a-half sword is a large sword with a double-edged blade and a long grip that, when necessary, could accommodate both hands to wield it. The grip of this sword is made of sharkskin and has been fitted around a wooden core. On the blade are two yet to be identified marks. If you are looking for this in the armor court, look up; this sword is part of one of the panoply or decorative arrangements on the wall.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.