Sword of Service and Scabbard
Martin-Guillaume Biennais (After designs by Charles Percier (born France, 1764–1838); Paris)
c. 1810
- Medium
- Silver, gilded silver, steel, gold, mother-of-pearl, wood, leather, and textile
- Classification
- Arms
- Dimensions
- H.: 98 cm (38 5/8 in.)
- Culture
- Paris
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Applied Arts of Europe
- Credit line
- Bessie Bennett Major Acquisitions Endowment Fund; through prior acquisition of the George F. Harding Collection
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Teens profiles and older: its subject is for older viewers (war, death, the Passion, drink or the like). How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
This court sword, with its heavily gilded silver hilt, mother-of-pearl grip and gold inlayed blade, was intended for presentation to a diplomatic, civic, or military leader for ceremonial wear at court. It represents the final development of the eighteenth civilian smallsword, with its characteristic short blade and downturned kidney-shaped guard—design features meant to make it less inhibiting to wear or less damaging to fine silk clothing.
The reverse side of the guard is engraved with the name and address of Napoleon Bonaparte’s official goldsmith, Martin-Guillaume Biennais of Paris. Biennais was responsible for executing gold and silver table wear, furniture, and even weapons for the Emperor and his court, much of which was designed by the architect Charles Percier. Watercolor drawings attributed to Percier for a nearly-identical hilt design—complete with flanking winged horses, laurel leaves, and other classical ornaments—are preserved in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris. These motifs reference the trappings of the ancient Roman empire to draw allusions to Napoleon and his rule.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
