 Peter Finer
Sold to the Higgins Armory Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts
A Fine Sword of Justice
Germany, circa 1700
Hilt of cast gilt bronze; original grip covered with ray-skin
Overall length: 45 3/4 inches
Courtesy of Peter Finer
The cruciform hilt of cast gilt bronze, the original grip covered with ray-skin. The large pear-shaped pommel with facets and lobes. The superb broad double-edged blade is etched and gilded with foliage and strapwork, showing a figure of Justice as a blindfolded woman with scales and a sword. The wide single fuller is engraved with an inscription relating to the function of the sword:
WAN DEM ARMEN SUNDER WIRDT
ABGESPROCHEN DAS LEBEN
DANN WIRDT ER MIR UNTER
MEINE HANDT GEGEBEN
When the poor sinner is denied life
Then he will be placed under my hand
WANN ICH DAS SCHWERDT
NUN THUE AUFFHEBEN
SO GEBE GOTT DEM ARMEN
SUNDER DAS EWIGE LEBEN
Now when I raise the sword
So God give the poor sinner eternal life
Swords of this form, known as “executioners swords,” are always of very high quality, created by the best blade makers. They were not, as popularly thought, used for execution, but were carried upright before a lord or a prince as a symbol of his power as a lawgiver.
For more information, visit www.peterfiner.com.
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