BEAUTIFUL AND DEADLY: THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF BLADES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Denys Dormenok

The Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibits blades from different countries and eras, but you don't have to go to New York to see these treasures of weaponry. WAS will show you interesting pieces from one of the world's best collections of cold steel in detail.

The first daggers appeared in the Stone Age. Those were sharp double-edged knives, made of flint or bone. Copper daggers appeared in the 4th millennium BC.

Swords were created later, about 5,000 years ago, when people learned to work with bronze. The first items that could be called swords were made of arsenic bronze. Archaeologists find such weapons in the south of modern Turkey. The sword was the child of bloody evolution, as a longer blade made it much more effective in battle.

Mankind has been actively using swords for thousands of years, until the early 20th century. The shape changed, blades began to be decorated with precious stones and handles made of precious metals. But the essence of the weapon remained the same. Even today, they still drew people’s attention. There is something mysterious about these beautiful and deadly pieces.

A short sword with a scabbard, northeastern China, 10th-8th century BC. Materials: bronze. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A short sword, Northern China, 5th century BC. Materials: bronze. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A sword, China, Eastern Zhou, 4th-3rd century BC. Material: bronze with turquoise inlay. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A short sword (Duan Jian), Central Asia, 4th-1st century BC. The combined use of bronze and steel, as well as the gold decorations, indicate that it was forged in a wealthy community with advanced metalworking skills. Similar swords have been found in Yunnan in southwestern China and in Ningxia in the northwest. Materials: steel, bronze, gold. Similar weapons were used by warriors of Indo-European nomadic tribes (Scythians). Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A Celtic sword, 60 BC. The hilt is shaped to resemble a Celtic warrior. The sword belongs to the type associated with La Tène culture. Materials: iron, copper alloy. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A Viking sword, Scandinavia, 10th century. Decorated hilt and ornamented blade indicate that this sword was used by a high-ranking warrior, possibly a Viking leader or a Frankish nobleman. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A ceremonial sword from Western Europe, circa 1400. The Latin quote on the hilt's head reads: ‘Here virtue will find its reward.’ Materials: steel, silver, copper alloy, leather. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A German longsword, 1400-1430. Similar weapons were used throughout Western Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries. Materials: steel, copper alloy. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A falchion. One of the few well-preserved swords from the late 15th century. Venice, Italy, 1490. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A tuck sword. Italy, early 16th century. The hard, sharp blade is designed to penetrate the gaps between the plates of the enemy's armor. Materials: steel, bronze, gold, wood, fabric. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
An example of the most fashionable type of sword used by English nobles in the time of King James I. Silver panels on the hilt were made by an unknown London craftsman, and are a masterpiece of miniature relief sculpture. The blade is signed by Clemens Horn, a famous craftsman from Solingen, Germany. Materials: iron, silver, wood, copper alloy, steel, gold. 1600-1625. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A sword hilt from the time of King James I. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A sword from the time of King James I (hilt detail). Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A sword from the time of King James I (detail). Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A rapier of Prince-Elector Christian II of Saxony, 1606. The gilded bronze hilt of this intricately designed sword is the only surviving work by the Dresden artisan Israel Schuech. The woven ornamentation and allegorical figures, decorated with artificial stones and covered with enamel, could compete with the rich jewelry that was in fashion at the Saxon court. Materials: steel, bronze, gold, artificial stones, glass, small pearls, enamel. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A Polish saber with a scabbard, early 17th century. The Hungarian-style saber was used at the Saxon court in Dresden. The mark on the blade may belong to Georg Hoffmann, a jeweler from Breslau (Wroclaw, Poland). Materials: steel, gold, silver, leather, wood, textiles, semiprecious stones. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A Polish saber (detail), early 17th century. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A hunting sword with a scabbard, 1740. The hilt work is attributed to the sculptor Joseph Deutschmann. The lion on the top holds a crescent moon under its paw, probably alluding to the recent victories over the Ottomans in Eastern Europe. Materials: steel, silver, ivory, wood, leather. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
Colonel Marinus Willett's US Congress presentation sword, 1777. One of the ten ‘elegant swords’ awarded by the Continental Congress to officers for their battles against the British during the War of Independence. Materials: steel, silver, gold, fish skin, textiles, wood. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
Major General John E. Wool’s U.S. Congress presentation sword, 1854. One of the most exquisite and unusual American swords has been preserved almost in its original form. The Congress presented this sword to General Wool as a reward for his service at the Battle of Buena Vista in the Mexican-American War of 1846-48. Unlike most American presentation swords, Wool’s one is of American concept and artistic execution. Materials: steel, gold, brass, diamonds, rubies. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
Major General John E. Wool’s U.S. Congress presentation sword, 1854. One of the most exquisite and unusual American swords has been preserved almost in its original form. The Congress presented this sword to General Wool as a reward for his service at the Battle of Buena Vista in the Mexican-American War of 1846-48. Unlike most American presentation swords, Wool’s one is of American concept and artistic execution. Materials: steel, gold, brass, diamonds, rubies. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
Major General John E. Wool’s U.S. Congress presentation sword, 1854. One of the most exquisite and unusual American swords has been preserved almost in its original form. The Congress presented this sword to General Wool as a reward for his service at the Battle of Buena Vista in the Mexican-American War of 1846-48. Unlike most American presentation swords, Wool’s one is of American concept and artistic execution. Materials: steel, gold, brass, diamonds, rubies. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
Brigadier General Daniel Davis’s presentation sword with a scabbard. After the War of 1812, the State of New York awarded 12 swords to military officers who commanded troops within its borders. This sword was awarded posthumously. Materials: steel, gold, silver. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A presentation saber awarded to Captain Hartstene by Queen Victoria in 1856. Materials: silver, steel, velvet, ivory, gold. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A knife with a scabbard. France, Dieppe, early 19th century. Materials: steel, ivory, diamond, ruby, enamel, gold. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A dagger with a leather scabbard. Mughal Empire, India, 18th century. Materials: steel, jade, leather, wood. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A dagger (Bichwa), India, Thanjavur, 17th century. This dagger is one of the best examples of ornamental steelwork. Materials: steel, gold. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A dagger (Jambiya), Iran, 1825-1850. The hilt of this ivory dagger is carved with a figure of a Sufi mystic with a staff, decorated with an hoopoe (a bird mentioned in the Qur'an). The man holds a beggar's cup in his hand. One of the carved inscriptions tells about the power of weapons. Materials: steel, ivory. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A dagger with a scabbard. Iran, late 18th or early 19th century. Materials: steel, copper alloy, enamel, gold, glass. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A dagger, India, Hyderabad, 17th-18th century. Materials: steel, jade, silver, gold. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
An Ottoman saber, 1522-1566. One of the best-preserved Islamic blades of the 16th century. The gold inlay features quotations from the Qur'an that emphasize the supremacy of God, as well as the wisdom and strength of his servant Solomon. These could be also references to Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Materials: steel, gold, fish skin, wood. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
Yatagan from the court of Suleiman the Magnificent, 1525-1530. This sword was created in the workshop of the court jeweler Ahmed Tekelü. Materials: steel, gold, walrus bone, silver, turquoise, pearls, rubies. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
Yatagan from the court of Suleiman the Magnificent, 1525-1530. This sword was created in the workshop of the court jeweler Ahmed Tekelü. Materials: steel, gold, walrus bone, silver, turquoise, pearls, rubies. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
Yatagan from the court of Suleiman the Magnificent (hilt detail), 1525-1530. This sword was created in the workshop of the court jeweler Ahmed Tekelü. Materials: steel, gold, walrus bone, silver, turquoise, pearls, rubies. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
An Ottoman kilij saber, 18th century. Materials: steel, wood, turquoise, coral, emerald, gold. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
An Ottoman kilij saber, 18th century. Materials: steel, wood, turquoise, coral, emerald, gold. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A short Tibetan sword with a scabbard, 18th-19th century. Materials: steel, gold, turquoise, coral, leather, wood. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
A sword with a scabbard, Tibet, 18th-19th century. Materials: steel, silver, wood, textiles, turquoise, coral, leather. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
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