You must join the virtual exhibition queue when you arrive. If capacity has been reached for the day, the queue will close early.
Learn more
Jump to content tickets Member | Make a donation
- The Collection
- The American Wing Ancient Near Eastern Art Arms and Armor The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing Asian Art The Cloisters The Costume Institute Drawings and Prints Egyptian Art European Paintings European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Greek and Roman Art Islamic Art Robert Lehman Collection The Libraries Medieval Art Musical Instruments Photographs Antonio Ratti Textile Center Modern and Contemporary Art
Crop your artwork:
Scan your QR code:
Gratefully built with ACNLPatternTool
Swiss
Not on view
The halberd is the signature weapon of Switzerland, a real and symbolic manifestation of Swiss independence, which was safeguarded in the late medieval and early Renaissance periods by the ability of non-noble infantry armed with such weapons to successfully confront outside armies that relied on traditional heavy cavalry comprised mostly of noblemen. This halberd is rare and important for its early date, indicated by its form and construction; for retaining its original shaft, possibly the earliest original shaft to survive and a feature that is seldom found intact and unaltered on staff weapons predating the sixteenth century; and for the fact that the shaft is round in cross section, another early feature that was superseded in the fifteenth century by the much more typical quadrangular section one sees on the hafts of most staff weapons. Also an early feature is the presence of two “eyes,” through which the top of the shaft is inserted. This form of construction was superseded by a stronger, centrally placed socket in the early fifteenth century. In essence, the head of this halberd represents an important early transitional stage in the development of halberds from long curved knives on poles into their canonical form comprising an axe blade combined with a spear point above and a spike behind. It presents a key step in the creation of what became a widely used tool in the democratization of warfare, with a long afterlife as a highly decorated ceremonial arm that was carried as a sign of rank, remaining in use in Europe and America well into the eighteenth century.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
- Download image
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
Overall
Overall
Artwork Details
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title: Halberd
Date: ca. 1400
Culture: Swiss
Medium: Steel, iron, wood
Dimensions: L. 78 1/2 in. (199.39 cm)
Classification: Shafted Weapons
Credit Line: Gift of Dr. John Waldman, 2020
Accession Number: 2020.251
Learn more about this artwork
Related Artworks
- All Related Artworks
- Arms and Armor
- Arms
- Edged weapons
- Halberds
- Iron
- Iron alloy
- Iron and iron alloy
- Metal
- Staff weapons
- Steel
- From Europe
- From Switzerland
Broadsword
early 17th century
Swiss Saber (Schweizersäbel)
early 16th century
Wheellock Pistol
Felix Werder (Swiss, Zurich, 1591–1673)
dated 1640
Wheellock Pistol
Felix Werder (Swiss, Zurich, 1591–1673)
dated 1630
Halberd
ca. 1590–1600
Resources for Research
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
Arms and Armor at The Met
Collecting, preserving, researching, publishing, and exhibiting distinguished examples representing the art of the armorer, swordsmith, and gunmaker.