Mounting an 18th C damascened sword

Although most other departments use brass for their mounts, the Arms & Armor department has traditionally used steel, lined with concealed conservation felt on areas of contact between the object and the mount. I had the opportunity to make a wall mount for a beautiful 18th C smallsword (26.145.337) with an Indian damascened hilt and European blade, and to install it in its new case in the new European Paintings galleries, where it will be on public display for the first time. After constructing the mount structure, I heat patinated the front of it a darker gray to match the color of the blade, and the shaft was spray painted to match the color of the fabric covering the display backing so it would blend in. Finally, I cut out slim strips of adhesive-backed conservation felt to line the inside of the mount where it would come into contact with the object.

For the installation, my supervisor Sean Belair and I were joined by exhibitions design manager Dan Kershaw, Arms & Armor curator John Byck, and European Paintings curator David Mullins, who all collaborated on the decision of how the sword should be positioned to show it to its best advantage. They agreed that it should be tilted forward as much as the mount and Plexi case would allow, to better emphasize a view of the gorgeously damascened details on the hilt’s grip and bowl, and give the sword more dynamic presence which would prevent it from fading into the wall and feeling static.