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Rapier: M.14-1946

Object information

Current Location: Gallery 31 (Armoury)

Maker(s)

Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Ovoid pommel with barrel-shaped button. Spirally-grooved grip bound with silver, in alternating strands of flat ribbon and twisted wire, the ribbon being within the spiral grooves. Turks' heads at top and bottom. Knuckle-guard of circular section, with an elaborate out-turned feature at the top. Long, straight quillons of circular section, widening towards the ends, with a strong cusped ecusson. The rest of the hilt emits branches, loop-guard and three ring-guards, all of circular section, springing from the ends of the branches. Back-guard of four elements. All of the guards, except the back-guards, ae decorated with designs in the silver repoussé on a blackened ground, in the manner of contemporary English decoration. Long blade of flat hexagonal section. There is a flat ricasso, the faces of which are slightly hollowed, and double fullers at the forte. In the ricasso, the name PICININO in a cartouche is engraved, and in some of the fullers are indeterminate punched marks.
Hilt type (Norman) 61. Pommel type 29.

Notes

History note: Baron A.C. de Cosson; sold Sotheby's, May 23 1946, Catalogue of Armour and Weapons from the Collection of the late Baron C.A. de Cosson, Sold by order of C.A. de Cosson, Esq. . . ., lot 165; purchased for the Fitzwilliam Museum

Legal notes

Given by the Friends of the Fitzwilliam Museum

Measurements and weight

Length: 128 cm

Place(s) associated

  • Milan ⪼ Italy

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1946-12-23) by The Friends of the Fitzwilliam Museum

Dating

17th Century, Early#
Circa 1600 - 1620

Note

The blade is engraved PICININO in a cartouche on the ricasso - the part of the blade nearest the hilt. It was probably made by Frederic Picinino, who succeeded his father Antonio Picinino (1508–89). The binding of the grip is original and this hilt, though damaged with time, would have been magnificent when new.

Components of the work

Grip Inlay composed of silver
Sword composed of steel
Blade Length 118 cm
Grip Length 8.2 cm
Quillons Width 21 cm
Decoration
Ground
Marks

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: PICININO
  • Location: On the ricasso
  • Type: Signature
  • Location: On some of fullers
  • Method of creation: Punched
  • Type: Mark
  • Text: 14. 1946
  • Type: Tag

Identification numbers

Accession number: M.14-1946
Primary reference Number: 18939
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 20 April 2021 Last processed: Thursday 7 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Rapier" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/18939 Accessed: 2024-11-25 08:08:12

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/18939 |title=Rapier |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-25 08:08:12|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

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https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-18939

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