Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

The Metropolitan Museum of Art


    • Sword, 10th century
    European (possibly Scandinavian)
    Steel, copper, silver

    L. 37 3/4 in. (96 cm)
    Rogers Fund, 1955 (55.46.1)

    The skillfully decorated hilt and blade indicate that this sword was carried by a warrior of high rank, perhaps a Viking chieftain or a Frankish nobleman. The braided copper wires on the pommel may represent an earlier Scandinavian custom of tying a talisman to a sword hilt. The pattern-welded blade was forged of intertwined rods of steel and iron, a technique that produced a tough, resilient blade with a distinctive swirling pattern on its surface.

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    This work has been published in the Museum's Bulletin or Journal. These articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship.
  • Nickel, Helmut. "Arms and Armor: From the Permanent Collection." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 49, no. 1 (Summer, 1991).
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  • Sword, 10th century
    European (possibly Scandinavian)
    Steel, copper, silver

    L. 37 3/4 in. (96 cm)
    Rogers Fund, 1955 (55.46.1)