Netherlands / c. 1760–70
Hunting Sword
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Hunting Sword as arms and armor (Netherlands · c. 1760–70).
Besides being viewed as a recreation for European nobility and an ancient and hereditary right, hunting was recognized as a necessary and pragmatic skill which supplied an additional source of food and dispatched animals which were considered a menace.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this arms and armor as steel; pierced and chiseled cast-iron hilt ; blade engraved.
The museum's collection notes: No gentleman's hunting costume was complete without a hunting sword. These special sidearms, designed primarily as defense against dangerous game in the field, were also used to dispatch game at the end of a chase. It was a point of honor among aristocratic hunters to carve and section the game in the field, a further function for which these swords were well suited. They were often made as a set, or garniture, and included smaller knives, forks, and other implements for carving the carcass.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtHunting SwordOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.