Cover for a Smallsword Hilt

Sword maker Santerre French
ca. 1780
Not on view
Leather bags of this kind were intended as covers to protect the hilts of smallswords, the ubiquitous side-arm of the eighteenth-century gentleman. These covers, called "hoods" in English documents, were provided by the sword cutler, or fourbisseur, and (at least in the two known French examples) bore his name as an advertisement. Another leather cover stamped with the name of the Paris cutler Pagès is also in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum (acc. no. 1995.52). A delightful example of eighteenth-century ephemera, this cover complements the Metropolitan Museum’s extensive collection of French smallswords.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Cover for a Smallsword Hilt
  • Sword maker: Santerre (French, Paris, recorded 1774–92)
  • Date: ca. 1780
  • Culture: French
  • Medium: Leather, silk, paper, ink
  • Dimensions: H. 7 5/8 in. (19.4 cm); W. 5 1/4 in. (13.3 cm); Wt. 1 oz. (28.3 g)
  • Classification: Swords-Accessories
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Gift of William H. Riggs, by exchange, 2017
  • Object Number: 2017.221
  • Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

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