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Hilt: northern European (possibly Swedish) Blade: possibly Italian or Spanish

Scarf Sword

c. 1660
Steel, brass, silver, gilding, and wood
92.7 × 7.6 cm (36.5 × 3 in)

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● On view now — Gallery 239

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · verified July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

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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