CC0 · no rights reserved
Pillow Sword
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
The "pillow-sword" is so-named because of where it was kept. A sword like this one, with a straight blade and relatively simple hilt, would have been suspended above a headboard within arm's reach for bedside defense should an intruder attack while the household was asleep and vulnerable.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit linePillow Sword, c. 1650. Italy, 17th century. Steel, pierced; leather and wood; overall: 93 cm (36 5/8 in.); blade: 77.8 cm (30 5/8 in.); quillions: 9.5 cm (3 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance, 1916.1495
