This hilt is the only recorded work of the Dresden sword cutler Israel Schuech. It is one of the best examples of a rapier hilt made with the same materials, techniques, and quality as the fine sculpture, jewelry, and goldsmiths' work for which the Saxon Court was famous.
#4412. Rapier of Prince-Elector Christian II of Saxony
Dimensions:L. 48 in. (121.9 cm); L. of blade 41 1/4 in. (104.8 cm); W. 6 3/4 in. (17.2 cm); Wt. 3 lb. 4 oz. (1474 g)
Classification:Swords
Credit Line:Fletcher Fund, 1970
Accession Number:1970.77
Signature: Signed on the hilt: ISRAEL SCHVECH M[achts or esserschmied?] 1606; on the reverse of the blade: IVAN MARTINEZ EN TOLEDO (Juan Martinez in Toledo); on the ricasso: ESPADERO DEL REY (swordsmith of the King).
Inscription: On the obverse of the blade: IN TE DOMINE SPERAVI NON (from Psalm 31:1, King James Version: In Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust...) On the reverse of the blade: IVAN MARTINEZ IN TOLEDO On the ricasso: ESPADERO DEL REY On the hilt: ISRAEL SCHVECH M 1606
Marking: On the ricasso, the following Toledo marks: a crowned T repeated six times; a half moon repeated four times (and twice again at the end of blade grooves); a crowned fleur-de-lis repeated four times.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries," November 14, 1970–June 1, 1971, no. 251.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Patterns of Collecting: Selected Acquisitions, 1965–1975," December 6, 1975–March 23, 1976.
Hettner, Hermann, and Gustav Hermann Büttner. Photographien nach Gegenständen aus dem Könlglichen Historischen Museum in Dresden. Munich: Franz Seraph Hanfstaengl, 1871. pl. 107.
Cronau, Rudolf. Geschichte der Solinger Klingenindustrie. Stuttgart: Gebrüder Kröner, 1885. p. 25, ill.
Gurlitt, Cornelius. "Dresdener Waffenschmiede." Zeitschrift für historische Waffenkunde, Zeitschrift für Historische Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 1 pp. 265–71.
Petzsch, Georg. "Othmar Wetter, Messerschmied." Zeitschrift für historische Waffenkunde, Zeitschrift für Historische Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 1 p. 91.
Ehrenthal, Max von. Führer Durch das Königliche Historische Museum zu Dresden. 3rd ed. Dresden: Wilhelm Baensch, 1899. pp. 97–98, no. E579.
Laking, Guy Francis, Charles A. de Cosson, and Francis Henry Cripps-Day. A Record of European Armour and Arms Through Seven Centuries. Vol. IV. London: G. Bell and Sons, 1920–1922. p. 296, fig.1357.
Seidlitz, Woldemar von. Die Kunst in Dresden vom Mittelalter bis zur Neuzeit. Vol. 3. Dresden: Wilhelm und Berta von Baensch Stiftung, 1922. p. 414, no. 676.
Vollmer, Hans. "Schuech." Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart 30 p. 309.
Hayward, John F. "Studies on Othmar Wetter." Livrustkammaren V pp. 8–9, fig.4.
"Antique Sword Brings $49,400." New York Daily News (March 24, 1970).
Hayward, John F. "Arms from the Dresden Armory." Auction 3 pp. 48–51, fig.1.
Keen, Geraldine. "Saxon Prince Protests at Arms Sale." The Times [London, England] (March 24, 1970).
Howat, John K., Berry B. Tracy, Vaughn E. Crawford, Helmut Nickel, Hilde Limondjian, Bradford Kelleher, Kate C. Lefferts, Adolph S. Cavallo, Jacob Bean, Harry S. Parker III, Henry G. Fischer, Claus Virch, Stuart Silver, Fong Chow, Dietrich von Bothmer, Richard Ettinghausen, Louise Condit, Elizabeth R. Usher, Florens Deuchler, Dorothy Weinberger, Emanuel Winternitz, John T. Conger, Margaret P. Nolan, Dudley T. Easby Jr., John J. McKendry, Leon Wilson, Jack Frizzelle, William D. Wilkinson, Marica Vilcek, Henry Geldzahler, and John Goldsmith Phillips. "Reports of the Departments." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (October 1970), p. 64, ill.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Kenneth Clark. Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1970. p. 241, no. 251, ill.
Sotheby's, London. Highly Important Arms from the Saxon Royal Collections. London: Sotheby's, London, March 23, 1970. pp. 36–38, no. 34, ill.
Hayward, John F., and Sotheby's, New York. "Israel Schuech's Rapier." In Art at Auction, 1969–1970. New York: Sotheby's, New York, 1970. pp. 390–93, ill.
Nickel, Helmut. Ullstein-Waffenbuch: eine kulturhistorische Waffenkunde mit Markenverzeichnis. Berlin: Ullstein, 1974. p. 172, ill.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. Patterns of Collecting: Selected Acquisitions, 1965–1975: Explanatory Texts: An Exhibition, December 6, 1975 through March 23, 1976, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975. p. 36 (referred to as "a bejewelled Renaissance rapier").
Nickel, Helmut. "Arms and Armor." In The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Notable Acquisitions, 1965–1975. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975. p. 43, ill.
Norman, A. V. B. The Rapier and Small-Sword, 1460–1820. London: Arms & Armour Press, 1980. pp. 7, 38, 86, 90, 232, 333.
Boeheim, Wendelin. Handbuch der Waffenkunde. Das Waffenwesen in seiner historischen Entwickelung vom Beginn des Mittelalters bis zum Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts. Leipzig: Zentralantiquariat der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, 1985 (Reprint). pp. 283, 285, fig. 322.
Nickel, Helmut. "Arms and Armor from the Permanent Collection." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (Summer 1991), pp. 38–39, 64, ill.
Haedeke, Hanns-Ulrich. Menschen und Klingen: Geschichte und Geschichten. Solingen, Germany: MARTOR, 1994. pp. 100–102, fig. 49.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Thomas P. Campbell. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012. p. 164, ill.
Pyhrr, Stuart W. "Of Arms and Men: Arms and Armor at the Metropolitan, 1912–2012." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (Summer 2012), pp. 42–43, fig. 70.
Grip attributed to Joseph Deutschmann (German, Imst 1717–1787 Passau)
ca. 1740
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